Skipping Through the Grass

The Lenten season has become even more sweet to me as I take a class on the Old Testament. We are reading the prophets; death and destruction are everywhere. No one can deny the suffering experienced by the Israelites and Judeans during the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles, because they were not faithful to the Lord, who brought them out of Egypt.

The Lenten season is a time for us to reflect how we have not been faithful to the Lord. In this season, I reflect on a year of seemingly endless running on a wheel like a mad race to the finish. Yet my hope is in my Redeemer, who has risen from the dead, who shares His resurrection with His people. It is not I who can save myself but the Lord who has saved me. 

Before we rejoice in His resurrection, I would suggest reflecting on his steadfastness, graciousness, and patience in our lives. The Lord is all-just and does not have to show His mercy upon us. The Judeans were severely punished for their lack of faithfulness, and He would be just and correct in punishing us. Yet Christ Jesus is the covering for this sin. He was truly, perfectly faithful in a way that we can never be.

This song has been particularly on my mind in light of these reflections:

But mine is hope in my Redeemer

Though I fall, His love is sure

For Christ has paid for every failing

I am His forevermore

…

And mine are keys to Zion city

Where beside the King I walk

For there my heart has found its treasure

Christ is mine forevermore

(Christ is Mine Forevermore by CityAlight)

The glory of eternal life with God is so incomprehensible compared to our experience with death and sin, yet we can experience his presence because Christ has paid the price of our failings. Lent is a season of abounding in joy, rejoicing for the Lord has brought us out of the darkness of our sin, into the light of his life, death, and resurrection. 

It makes me want to take a quick skip through the grass with no shoes on.