Lent

March 13, 2021

Scripture Reading:
John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. –John 3:14-16

The cross is the most identifiable symbol of Christ used in Christianity’s variants, from the Crucifix with Jesus’s body to the empty cross denoting that he arose. Of course, both are essential to understand the substance of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. The writer of John sums it up well in John 3:16 (see above). For many, this scripture was one of the first we memorized as children. God saw that the world needed some help, and God came to be with us in the person of Jesus, who was the Christ demonstrating the ultimate love of God on that cross.

What was it that God observed about humans that led God to intercede? We have the history of God as recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Reading it is like riding a roller coaster. The people and leaders of one generation did right in the eyes of God, followed by others who did evil. While these phrases first appear in the books describing the Israelite kings, they began when Adam and Eve did not do what was right in the eyes of God. The written instruction appears in Deuteronomy 6:18,

Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you,

We can trace Israel’s successes and failures by the Kings who were described as doing right in the eyes of God and those who did evil in the eyes of God. Is that roller coaster still operating today? Have we, as individuals and as Christ-followers, turned from doing what is right in the eyes of God? Is the evil being described, our self-righteousness being projected as God’s righteousness?

Prayer: Lord, during this Lenten season, guide us to test our idea of righteousness to see if it melds with yours. Please lead us to your path of righteousness. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.