Greeting to you in the wonderful, beautiful, and powerful name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Savior! Well, He did it again…this is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. I trust that you are enjoying the warmth of your home and giving thanks to God for: electricity, gas/oil, and running water – and for snow plows and sidewalk plows and salt/sand trucks – we are so blessed! Are you thankful that we are enjoying what the groundhog says is an early spring….just asking. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to respond to your prayers for family and friends…and to the cry of your heart for your own needs – may He give you a glimpse of what He is doing.
This morning as we leave Ash Wednesday behind and begin our Lenten journey, I am reminded that we are moving toward an old rugged cross that has been planted in the center of our faith. The cross bears witness to a Savior who came to this earth full of grace and truth. If you consider that “lenten” means “lengthening” and refers to having more light, then we are moving towards the light. The light shines in such a manner that creates the shadow of the cross across the world. We live in the shadow of the cross…and what a place to experience the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.
It is in the shadow of the cross we realize the “truth” of who we were…sinners wandering through life without hope, without direction, without having a place to belong, and without knowing how to get out of our prisons. It is in the shadow of the cross we encounter the “truth” of a Savior who can transform what we were to a who we are. It is in the shadow of the cross that we discover the “grace” of a Savior who introduces into a family and we become children of God. In the shadow of the cross we begin to understand how amazing ‘grace’ really is.
It is because of the Savior full of grace and truth that we discover that in the shadow of the cross life has a deeper meaning, that it is hope-filled, that liberates us from our prisons, and that adopts us into a family…in fact, the family that we truly belong to. I can recall a chorus that says…Standing somewhere in the shadows you’ll find Jesus-He’s the only one who cares and understands-Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find him-And you’ll know Him by the nail prints in His hands, So over the next forty days…watch and pray, be alert, be open, be expecting – to meet Jesus Christ, a man full of grace and truth!
Have a great day!