Skip to main content

Day 16 (Saturday) – “Renewal in Coming and Returning”

Lent gives to us the ability to think more intentionally about who we are in relation to God, our Father.  When we begin to think about God, we recognize that he is uncreated, yet the creator.  The first half of the Nicene Creed speaks of God and of Jesus Christ:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father;
through him, all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate
of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that God the Father begins everything as a series of sending, receiving; of departure, and return; of separation and reunion.  The great theologian of the 12 century, St. Thomas Aquinas spoke of God as creating a big circular movement in which all things come from God and then, eventually, return to God.  There is a sense in which God created a sort of circuit where all of creation is meant to be in union with him.  Think about the simplest illustration of birth – life – death. We are created as humans, “imago dei”, “in the image of God”.  He gave us life through birth and thus released us to live, but eventually, every human, including us, will all come back to him.

What does this all have to do with Lent?  Yesterday, I wrote about the progress of holiness in living.  We are called to a “perfection”, in Christ, that will not be fulfilled until we gain eternal life.  We gain life, live life, then return to the creator of life – “God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth”.  In between, we live our lives.  Is there a purpose in living?  I would suggest Yes!  God has given us – in his image – reason, will, and choice, and we have the opportunity to learn how to make all of those things lead us to God.  The problem is, we live in a world that is “self-love” oriented, which tends to not reason, or choose God’s will.  As a Christian, I am called to repent when I see that I’ve chosen my own self-love over God’s will.  Many may not do so, but thanks to God, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be my Savior and Lord.  He came from God, co-eternal, of the same substance as the Father, but was sent through the conceiving of the Holy Spirit into the Virgin Mary, made incarnate, and became man.  All of this reminds us that Jesus’ coming, living, and returning was for our sake.  That means we are not alone in our pursuit of living a Christ-like, holy life.

I am sent into this world to live purposefully, and intentionally, with a view of my returning to God, the Father who sent me.  Does that seem daunting?  It need not be, for I am not abandoned by God as he sent me to live here.  Instead, he told me he would be there for my every need.  The writer of the book of Hebrews sums up our being sent into the world, living within it, and returning to God in a way that reminds us of what faith in Christ Jesus means.

“Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.
 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
(Hebrews 4:14-16).

 

Peace

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hands Full of Parcels

"A Man whose hands are full of parcels can't receive a gift."   - C. S. Lewis Romans 4:13-16 (ESV) 13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all... The last four days have been best described by the word "fatigue".  It's not an uncommon word in our vocabulary.  Listless, tired, sore.  1300 miles of car travel, being sick, not sleeping well, and eating poorly all add up to the word - fatigue.   Someone onc...

Joy to the World - Help is On the Way

It’s the first day of Advent– while you prepare for Worship this morning at church take a minute to ask God to direct you through this season that you might be prepared to “receive your King”. In the first week of Advent we celebrate the PROMISE of His Coming. His promise is based on our need. We were made in his image, but there is emptiness in our soul that is the result of the Fallen nature of sin. But why did Jesus come? What in his coming announces God's heart? His desire for us to know and experience? 10 BUT THE ANGEL SAID TO THEM, "DO NOT BE AFRAID; FOR BEHOLD, I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE; 11 FOR TODAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID THERE HAS BEEN BORN FOR YOU A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD. GREAT JOY! Did you know that God is Joyful? 1 CHRONICLES 16:23-27 (NASB) 23 SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. 24 TELL OF HIS GLORY AMONG THE NATIONS, HIS WONDERFUL DEEDS AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES....

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad