Devotion - Ash Wednesday

Some will look upon this day as a "downer."  They will wonder why anyone would place ashes on their faces and intentionally reduce their options for behaviors and/or diet.  Some will.

But not me.  And I pray, not you either.

Rather, I hope you will see this day (and the 39 to follow) as an opportunity to strip away all the add-ons which have stymied your relationship with God.  I hope you will seek the path(s) which open you to the possibilities of a life lived the way God saw that it could be lived on that sixth day of creation.

The self-sacrifice reflected on the cross of Jesus is not a denial of all that is joyful and promising; it is a refusal to live as the world would have us live.

The story about being at the alter and remembering that you have a grievance against your sister or brother is not about what one must do in order for God to accept our offering.  Rather, it is about the place God would put the emphasis.  Sure, God wants us to come to him with our offerings; but  God wants us to be united and restored in our relationships with one another.

I am not giving up ANYTHING for Lent.  Anything which will be missing from my live these next 40 days is an expression of the freedom Christ has given me to focus on what matters most in my life and to live my life in a way which reflects what matters the most.

May the pattern I set for my life these next 40 days become a habit which I will maintain for the remainder of the year.