Love’s Journey to the Cross: First day in Lent

Artist: Moriah Misner

Love’s Journey to the Cross – Lent Reflections

Easter is the most important event in our world history, and yet it can sneak up on us. We often spend so much time focusing on Christmas, that we forget Part 2, …the dying to self-part and receiving new life in Christ. Christmas is like receiving God’s gift under the tree and Easter is opening it!

Easter is a season, not just a week or a day, and it all starts on Ash Wednesday. The countdown to Easter Sunday is called “Lent” referring to a lengthening of days as the days get longer with Springtime! Lent is a time that we remember to die to our selfishness, and to live free in Christ.

Isn’t it perfect that the first day in Lent this year is Valentine’s Day, typically the day of love? Because, we countdown to the greatest act of love in history, when God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die (John 3:16) . This season, we focus on God’s love for us, and how He calls us to love…and to live free in Christ!

So, I invite you to quiet your heart and receive this reflection and blessing today…

An Everlasting Love

All our lives others tell us about who we are and how they feel about us and these messages deeply affect us.

But, I invite you to receive the deepest truth about who God knows you to be, about who you truly are… And this truth is rooted in God’s Word, and in His heart towards who you are.

Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

What particular word speaks to you today?

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

The Lord is near to you right now, no matter what place of life you are in.

As you enter this season of Lent – reflecting on Love’s journey to the cross, look for ways that God extends His everlasting love and kindness to you… through the Word, through His creation, through a friend or relative… Take note …you must be still and quiet, with eyes on Jesus. Perhaps, reflect at the end of each day, and make a list of moments that you saw God’s love and kindness. May you be surprised by His daily love for you. And May His love transform you and your journey ahead. Because of Love’s journey to the cross, you and I can live in freedom.

Prayer…

Lord, thank you that your love is everlasting.

Thank you for your unfailing kindness, that none of us deserve.

We reflect on the truth that God, you draw us close… so close that you sent your Son to sacrifice His life.

We want to be filled …with a deep sense of your love and kindness.

You call us your ‘beloved’. Teach us how to live in that calling. Amen.