Lent 2018 Devotional, Day One (Ash Wednesday)

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give you a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  —Ps. 51:15–17

This passage reminds us that we need never worry about proving ourselves “good enough” to come before God; indeed, we cannot possibly be “good enough” on our own. We strive to love as Jesus loved, and do the work that discipleship calls us to. Yet we always come up short. None of us can possibly live up to the standard of Jesus, God come in the flesh. We fail to love. We injure. We sin and are sinned against, and are left broken and separated from God.
Yet God accepts this brokenness as our sacrifice. When the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and hearts to God’s love for us, in spite of all of the deep wounds that mire us in shame and despair, we are humbled. We are made aware of the vast distance between ourselves and our Creator, despite our most dedicated efforts. In recognizing that this alienation exists within ourselves and others, we are saved from self-righteousness. None of us is “more advanced” when it comes to following the way of Jesus. We strive again to follow the best we can, in the midst of our broken selves and broken world.
Lent calls us to reflect on the necessity of Jesus in our world. Through his death and resurrection, we are freed from falling into despair amidst our brokenness. We are invited into the new birth through him, making possible our reconciliation with God and all others.
What gift of brokenness do you offer to God today? How have you found healing through Jesus Christ?

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