Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand. ————–Mark Twain
“Love your neighbor as yourself. Turn the other cheek. Follow me.” These are passages from the Bible that I do understand. There are many more. The trouble is that they call me to be a better person. Who they ask me to be seems impossible. How can I learn to be the Christian you want me to be?
Lord help me! I do understand these words you have given me, but I don’t seem to be able to follow through. Help! AMEN
Prayer is important. Prayer is not something we do lightly. We need to pray. We need to thank God for everything that he has given us. We need to praise him and tell him so. We should never think of prayer as just an opportunity to ask for things that we want. This is too often what we do. As Nouwen tells us prayer is the breath of life. Remember that.
We need to learn about our traditions. The stories of those who have gone before us and struggled with the same questions are important. But that is not all we need. We have to take the next step and spend time with God to let Him infuse the soul. Time with God is critical to our growth and faith.
Lent is a time to take stock. A time to look inside ourselves. Each of us may find a different way to observe this time. Some will give up something that is meaningful to them such as sweets or something electronic. Others might take something on such as reading a spiritual book, being kinder, visiting someone you have neglected. Whatever you choose doing something makes the time meaningful and helps to make Easter a joyous occasion.
Hear God in Other Voices 