We’re halfway to Easter. Only halfway? Jeez, doesn’t it seem like it already been a really long time?
The following is an except from Holly McKissick’s devotional:
…I appreciate the traditions that take a break halfway through Lent. You take a day off, throw up your hands, and admit that you are lost, a hopeless case. Eat chocolate and french fries; dine on beer and brats. Admit it: there is no way you can keep the faith till the last nail is in the cross.
It’s like halftime in the big game. Your team is down by twenty against a stronger, bigger opponent. You head into the locker room at halftime knowing that when the buzzer goes off, you’re going to come up short: yelling at the kids and hoarding your money, envying the neighbor who is thinner or richer.
But just when you could give in to despair and despondency, Ephesians gives us another word: “But God, who is rich in mercy, dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” (2:4-5).
But God, who is rich in mercy…
With that, the entire game changes, It’s not what we thought it was. It’s not about us, after all. It’s not about what we can do or how we can change. It’s about God, who is rich in mercy. It’s about grace – God’s love – free and unconditional. Nothing you can earn, win, deserve.
And at the end of the game? As it turns out, no one was keeping score anyway. Everyone gets to climb the ladder and cut the nets down.
It’s not about me. It’s not about me! It’s not about how hard I try or how hard I fail. It’s about love – free and unconditional. Oh, thank goodness.
Leave a Reply