God of all journeys, journey with this dear reader today and all days; bless and protect them, enrich their lives. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Romans 5: 12 You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in - first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. 13 That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. 14 Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it. 15 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man's sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God's gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! 16 There's no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. 17 If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides? 18 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! 19 One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. (The Message)
Poor Adam. All alone for a time, then God brought in all those animals, birds, fish and expected him to name them all. All the while God is having fun with him, trying to see if Mister Innocent can find in this zoo a perfect mate. Duh, of course not! So, poor Adam goes under for a rib removal and from that rib God fashioned the woman. Now, poor Adam is not all alone. He's got a partner in crime. Did I just say that? Yes, partner in crime. Adam disobeyed God and until Jesus showed up, beared the brunt of life, sin, and death. Paul gives quite the treatise on this theologically, but sets it right when he says that in Jesus, look at verse 18: "Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!"
Lent will be a time when we reflect on the right of God through Jesus and the wrong we ourselves have gotten into during this time since last year. Lent is a time when we say to God and to ourselves, "We need You and we need Your love and forgiveness." Though, we can't blame Adam, we have to take responsibility for our own actions. But unlike Adam, we have Jesus to clear away that sin and make us right with God and with ourselves. Our journey through Lent is to take us into life!
PRAYER: Loving God, we ask that as we begin Lent tomorrow I might find in You the grace and peace and forgiveness that I need to face life. I'm thankful that I know how the story ends and that through Jesus we find forgiveness of our sins. Let me be a blessing to You and to others; in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
