Lenten Post 7: Wounded...

This world is cruel. We are tempted and we are tried, we are knocked down and we are pushed flat on our faces. We fall to the traps the world has to offer and we seek contentment and pleasure in fleshly gains. We are wounded. We are battered and tattered and we are broken. When we read stories in the Bible, we often relate to the characters not because of the good they have done but the sins they have committed or the hurt they have felt. When we think of Eve, we see the snake that has tempted and fooled us. When we read the book of Job, we see the multiple losses we have sustained. When we hear of David, we see the immorality in our own life. When we read of Paul, we see the hatred and bitterness rooted deep in our heart. When Judas betrays, we remember our own betrayal. When Peter lies and denies, we too realize how many times we have lied and denied our faith. We are wounded. We are battered and tattered and we are broken. We forget that Eve was disciplined for her sin yet granted forgiveness and allowed to live. We forget that Job never once denied the Lord and stayed true to his faith even when his friends were tempting. We forget that David was the apple of the Lord's eye and was the one in whom He found great favor. We forget that Paul was blinded by the light and became one of the greatest teachers and preachers the world has ever known. We forget that Judas never repented and killed himself because of his betrayal. We forget that Peter was called the "rock on whom I will build my church." We are wounded. We are battered and tattered and we are broken. We find it hard to believe that we, we who love so deeply and desire Him so passionately can be swept away by one word, one action, one temptation, one person, one mistake into a spiral of sin. We find it hard to think that one phone call can push us to our knees. We find it hard to believe we have a propensity for sin, that we are totally deprived, that we are not inherently good. We find it hard to think that sufferings and trials are a part of this life. And then we remember we are living in a world, a fallen world, that we are surrounded by the flesh daily, that we are born into sin and are totally deprived, and that we too must share in the sufferings of Christ. And we remember that while we are wounded, battered, tattered, and broken, we are not defeated. We who are in Christ, we who are passionately seeking Him, we are forgiven. We are redeemed. We have been washed by the blood of the Son. We must repent, we must walk the road to the cross daily, we must gaze upon the cross daily. We must turn from our sin, daily. The cross and Resurrection are not a license to sin but a freedom to live. We who are in Christ must daily see our sin, daily take up our cross and daily follow Him. Lent, a season of repentance, a time where we fast from the world and its pleasures in order to rejoice in the Resurrection- we are wounded, we are battered and tattered and we are broken. But we are made whole in Him, we are found not guilty, we are redeemed, there is no shame, we are made new! And we are brought to life with His life and Resurrection! Rejoice for the day of Redemption is near!