Another Look at Lent

     The World Still Has Its Grumps.    February 21 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the time when we remember God’s plan of salvation which required the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ to take away the sins of the world. The world has not changed a lot from Eden or from Isaiah’s day. We are still grumpy and sad because we or those we are concerned about in the world, think we have no justice. “The world is not a good and righteous place,” we say. And we see that many people get discouraged because nothing seems fair to them. Help and satisfaction seem very far away. When we go to the Book of Isaiah, we see those very same feelings expressed 2800 years ago! Is he a “modern prophet” or what?!

     God Knew Our Problem.    Sin is a problem because of its effect on those who commit sin but also because of its effect on those who suffer its consequences. We are in a condition of sin in this world. Our Heavenly Father knew we needed an answer, a Savior, from this problem. We needed a physical, concrete answer, and our Heavenly Father sent us Jesus Christ to save us from our sin and unite us in His Father’s fellowship. That fellowship starts with God’s people here and now. The promise and the proclamation of the Gospel is that we have a God Who cares for us.

     God’s Intervention Was No Accident.    Lent is a time to remember God and His promises, first recorded in the Garden of Eden and reaffirmed throughout the Scriptures. Although we fell into sin, although God is not responsible, although we continue in our sin irrespective of God’s directives to mankind, God still cares for us. God the Son, Jesus Christ, was the promised answer to mankind’s fall. He became a real human being and shared our humanity. He came to satisfy the requirements of restoration with our Heavenly Father. He did not do this passively, but actually sought out and implemented the plans of the Father and the Holy Spirit from before there was an eternity. Do you Christ actually pursuing our salvation with these words, “with fervent desire I have desires [to do this].”

     Lent Is a Time to Remember.    As we enter the Lenten Season in this month of February, let us remember our Heavenly Father’s faithfulness in sending us a Savior Who was faithful in carrying out the plan that accomplished our salvation, now proclaimed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

~ Pastor Dave