Lent – Day 3
I grew up in South Texas and every year kids would come to school with ashes on their forehead and I remember thinking to myself, “whoa, they’re a Christian? I’ve never seen it!” It was easy for my self-righteous, pastors’ kid, teenage self to line up all my good deeds against the perceived sins I saw in others and judge them accordingly.
During lent we spend a lot of time talking and dwelling on sin and death. That’s the reason we observe with ashes because dust and ash represent the dirt we were created from and the dust our bodies will turn to in death. But the thing we must remember is that death was not the plan for us. Death was the consequence of the sin we committed as humankind and the sin we commit each day. And when I think of sin and death, my mind immediately goes to King David. After committing adultery with Bathsheba, killing her husband, and thinking he got away with it he is confronted by the Prophet Nathan with the news that God knew what he had done. His sin was great and the consequence was death. We get a glimpse into the heart of David as he is dealing with his sin through Psalm 51. He says:
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”
It’s often easy to disregard our sin and its effects on us. It’s easy to focus on the good deeds and the worship side of faith without spending too much time on our sin and its consequences. But when we recognize our sin in light of God’s holiness, we realize how much we need Jesus. There’s a longing, a brokenness, like an itch that needs to be scratched or a sock that’s fallen off a heel.
The reason we spend so much time focused on sin and death during lent is so that we can expectantly wait on the resurrection to free us from the bondage of sin and death.
David continues in verses 14-15 by saying, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
I often feel the need to repent of my judgments, the judgments of an ignorant teenager, and the judgment of an adult. I recognize that even at my best, I’m a sinner in need of repentance. And I hope that my continual deep dive into my own sin and selfishness leads me to see how undeserving I am for salvation. And because of that I, want to declare God’s praise as David did.
During lent we focus our attention on our sin and confession and wait expectantly for Jesus to fulfill the promise of healing the brokenhearted, setting right the sinner, and satisfying the wrath of God on us.