Lord, as this dear reader continues their Lenten Journey bless them in wondrous ways; in Christ Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Colossians 3:5-17: 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you once walked, when you lived in them. 8 But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices 10 and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scyth'ian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, 13 forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
If you haven't given up something for Lent, Paul shares a great list to choose from! How about giving up sexual sin? Impure thoughts and actions. Lust? Desiring and coveting material things to the point of worshiping them? You can see why John Wesley asked all his society members, "Are you willing to flee the coming wrath of God?" That was then and is still now a great question. Lent is about putting to death the sinful part of our nature and seeking the spiritual one. Our having become Christians meant a new change in our lives, a new birth as it were at the cost of the death of our physical desires. Still need a list, Paul continues: Anger? Hmm. But isn't that so much fun to be fuming mad at someone? How about doing something wicked at the expense of that anger? Yeah, revenge! Full-out revenge! How about the cold shoulder? Yes, that's fun too. "I don't see you so I don't have to acknowledge you." How about I just talk bad about you? "Did you know that so-and-so did/said this and thus?" How about giving up cursing/cussing/bad language? How about not telling the truth to someone's face? That's quite a list! But Paul says, that's our old nature. In Christ we have taken up a new nature. It's like finally taking off that old shirt/blouse and putting on a new, clean, fresh one! And not only putting it on, allowing the thought of this new garment on us give us a new attitude that the old clothes just didn't do. And why not let the things you're taking on as part of this new nature include these things: holiness, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, patience, bearing or putting up with one another, and how about forgiveness? And to crown this all off, why not take up love as your new nature? All these, joined together bring us peace. The peace that is best defined, not as the absence of conflict or trouble, but the sense of well-being that fills up every nook and cranny of our hearts with that assurance that all is well with us, thanks to God.
Such is the daily journey of the Christian but made more so during these forty days of Lent. It becomes not second nature, but our true nature of being spiritual beings, led and guided by God on this wonderful journey called life. So as you fast, put away those things that can kill, steal, or destroy our spiritual lives and take up the things that bring us to the fullness of life.
PRAYER: Loving God of the Journey, journey with me today. As I have read above, let me give up those things that have made me a miserable person, guided only by human and earthly pleasures and desires. I repent of those and I believe in the gospel, the good news of a better life and I accept it in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
