Lenten Love

“To assail the changes that have unmoored us from the past is futile, and in a deep sense. I think it is wicked. . .This cannot be an easy life. We shall have a rough time of it to keep our minds open, and to keep them deep. . .in a great, open, windy world; but this is, as I see it, the condition of man; and in this condition we can help, because we can love one another.” (J. Robert Oppenheimer) 

It is a time during the year that we, as Christians, call Lent. The word Lent is derived from the Old English lencten, which means "lengthen." It refers to the lengthening of the daylight hours that occurs in the northern hemisphere as spring approaches. It is in this period of transition from late winter to early spring that the season of Lent falls. There are many reasons why it lasts 40-days, but that’s not the important part. We can “give up” anything we want – chocolate, sugar, TV, etc. – it matters not what we give up or as some call it “sacrifice” during this 40-day period of time. The most important part of Lent is its culmination. 

During the culmination of our Lenten season, Christians everywhere remember, in many different ways, the cruel and gruesome death that Jesus Christ suffered on our behalf. His birth, His very life, His earthly ministry, His teachings, all spoke of the passion for us that would hold him in place upon that Roman cross. It was not the spikes that Roman centurions drove mercilessly through His wrists and feet that held Him to that cross. It was His passion for us. It was the love that His father had for His children. It was the love, the culminating love, knowing that He would be the last spotless lamb that would ever be placed upon the altar of sacrifice. He was the last sin offering, the last scapegoat. It was His blood that was accepted at the divine mercy seat of God on that culminating day. The Creator’s love for His children into whom He had breathed life, hung on that cross. It was His pure, passionate, utterly unadulterated love for us that was on His mind as He uttered those final words, “It is finished.” All His blood had been poured out. It was love that tore in two the four-foot thick veil in the temple that separated a holy Father from His sinful, lost children. The culmination of a lifetime of pure and selfless love had provided a way for sinful man to be at peace with and have the peace of His Creator within. Jesus, Savior. 

When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. (~ Isaac Watts ~)

As I have been studying the sacrifices of the tabernacle over the past months, I was reminded of God’s provision to His children and His reminders to them of His love, His passion for His people by allowing them to bring sacrificial offerings to the altar for atonement. New Testament writers confirm His acts of love throughout Scripture. It is in His culminating love that we are to live and love as He had loved. 

Some of my favorite passages in the Bible are found among the writings of the Apostle Paul. He understood the passion and love of our Lord. Paul’s inspired words flowed with the love of Christ pointing us always toward our loving Father. While he admitted many times that without constant prayer and divine concentration that He would fall short of exhibiting that passionate love in and through his own life. Paul’s admonition to us in Galatians chapter 5 teaches us that only as we live in love can we fulfill the will of God in our lives. We must become as Christ: love-inspired, love-mastered, and love-driven. Without the fruit of the Spirit (love: Galatians 5: 22) we are just a religious noise (I Cor. 13:1). Dear God, how short do I fall? 

Paul expounds on God’s love stating that the fruit of the Spirit is love. . .Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “you shall know them by their fruits”. The fruit of the Spirit is love and it is manifested in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Joy is love’s strength. Peace is love’s security. Patience is love’s endurance. Kindness is love’s conduct. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s confidence. Gentleness is love’s humility. Self-control is love’s victory.

If we pour ourselves out and put our all on the altar, the Holy Spirit will flood our hearts with the love of God and passion for the lost. As we make our spiritual journey through this Lenten season, however God is leading you, “we may have a rough time of it, but keep your minds open, and keep them deep. . .in a great, open, windy world; but this is, as I see it, the condition of man; and in this condition we can help, because we can love one another.”

“But if we are the body Why aren't His arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching? And if we are the body Why aren't His feet going? Why is His love not showing them there is a way? Jesus is the way.” (Casting Crowns)