03-24-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
​March 24, 2023
"Is tomorrow trash day?" This is a question asked a lot around our house. Part of it could be due to bad memory, but part of it is due to the actual trash pickup occurring one or two days late. And we just learned the pickup days are changing again in a few weeks, after another change that occurred less than a year ago. This sort of thing came to mind as I was praying a few days ago, specifically focusing on confession and repentance during this Lenten Season. How do we remove what should not be left within us? How do we leave egoism, anger or even hatred by the curb? How do we bag up fear and insecurity so someone can take them far enough away that we won’t notice their stench? People might guess that ‘intentionality’ is one of my favorite words. I use it a lot, and that speaks to how I view the Christian life. I just finished a great conversation with one of our church members about how challenging and discomforting the Gospel really is. It is important for us, not to intentionally ignore all those parts that we do not like, but to intentionally struggle with the Gospel as a whole. Part of that intentional work is recognizing the unhealthy and unhelpful stuff we carry within us that keeps us from truly engaging the Gospel, and unleashing the Gospel within us and through us. Maybe your bag won't be full, but don't let it sit around the house until it is. As we know, trash that just sits begins to really stink.

Lord God, I’ve got some stuff. Some not-so-healthy or beneficial information. Some of it I have chosen, and some of it has been imposed on me. Whatever the cause or circumstance, I come before you in prayer seeking to confess and acknowledge some of those things that hinder my relationship with you and the Gospel. Wherever I can let go and put some real distance between me and what was never your hope for me, may it be so. Amen.