Lent is upon us. A time when we reflect on our own lives as well as the death and the resurrection of Christ. On that glorious Easter morning our sins were forgiven and we were granted eternal life. However long we live we can never grasp the true meanings of those words or the sacrifice that was made on Good Friday.
We read the word “forgiven” and yet because we often cannot see through the darkness of our own past we really fail to grasp the full implications of what the word imparts. We sometimes find it easier to forgive others than to forgive ourselves. Many feelings of guilt through our actions in the past blind our eyes to see the truth – that we are indeed forgiven, and loved, and cherished by a God who gave up his only son so that we would not perish.
I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel that if other people could look inside and see the real me, I would be found wanting. We dwell on our mistakes, on the way we behave, or on anything that we see as flaws in our own being. How often do we only see the ugly and not the beauty that God sees in us? He delights in us and calls us his sons and daughters. We need to see this beauty inside each one of us before we can truly see the beauty in others. It is only as we come to know the true meaning of forgiveness can we show God’s unconditional love to the world. We hear this text from Matthew during our communion services but how often do we reflect on what it actually means?
Matthew 26:27-29
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying
“Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Personal Prayer:
Beloved Christ, I come before you now carrying so many burdens of guilt and shame, things that I dwell on that stops me from becoming the person that you wish me to be. Open my eyes to see that I am forgiven and loved. “Just as I am, I come.” Amen
by Terry Stead
Used by Permssion
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