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Today's Lenten Devotion
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Sins Forgiven and Forgotten by The Cross and Love
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
-- Jeremiah 31:33-34
My "most-wanted" list of misplaced treasures includes a holy card I received when I was in the primary grades. It is of a little girl with a Buster Brown haircut, wearing Mary Janes. One's eye is drawn to her tiny feet because she is on tiptoe, straining to reach and tenderly kiss the cheek of Jesus as He hangs on the cross.
That icon of loving suffering matched with heartfelt gratitude is often the visual centerpiece of my personal Good Friday devotion. I am that child in my heart of hearts ... .
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Thank heaven, as a child I was well-taught by faithful parents and grandparents, and by faith-filled teachers. Even in first grade, I "knew" and loved Jesus. Can we say the same of the children and young people in our lives?
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? Romans 10:14
We are that someone who must proclaim Him, that all may know Him…
When I was small, I knew the small sins for which my Savior suffered and died. In my mind, He hanged there because I had disobeyed my teacher or talked back to my mother or been slow to part with the pretzel money that could have supported foreign missionaries ... .
Forty-some years later I still want to stand on tiptoe to plant a tender kiss on His cheek. I am still that child in my heart of hearts. Yet I now have an adult perspective on these sins of mine that are nailed to the cross along with His hands and feet. They go beyond childhood's transgressions and bring me to my knees before His cross, before they raise me on tiptoe ... .
The promise set forth in Jeremiah means all the more to me now: " ... I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Let us pray:
Dear God, how could you both forgive and forget all my frustrating shortcomings and serious sins?? I know not "how," other than the cross of my Lord Jesus. I know not "why," other than purest love. This day and all days, I stand on tiptoe – in gratitude and reciprocal love. Amen
Pastor Mary Virginia Olsen
blueiris@bytheshore.com
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