March 2007
WE ARE THE CREATURES,
NOT THE CREATOR
What do you think of when we think of the month of
March? The first thing that pops into my head is that
this month marks the “official” beginning of Spring
(and not too soon I might add). I’m amazed that last
year winter was pretty much over by mid January and
this year it didn’t begin until then. But, as I write
this, the snow is melting and the temperature is
moving up into the mid 40's for the first time in what
seems to have been a very long time. There is a sense
of newness and hope in the air. I think that’s what I
really like about Spring, it’s like a fresh start; a
clean slate or a new beginning.
I feel that way every year when Lent rolls around. It
is an opportunity for us to do some self reflection;
some deep soul searching. It’s an occasion for us to
remember who we are as fallen creatures; a part of
God’s creation desperately in need of redemption. We
all need this time to remember the harsh truth that we
can’t save ourselves. We need to remember that no
amount of good deeds will cross us over some “magic
threshold of acceptance” into heaven. I can’t tell you
how many times I’ve heard, “Oh, he was a good man” or
“she had a kind heart”. I can’t describe how deeply it
grieves me to hear those words without acknowledging
the role of Christ in our lives. The sad fact is that
we can’t “earn” our way into heaven. We are not worthy
of even a glimpse of heaven under our own merit. The
bottom line is this: apart from Christ Jesus we have
no hope; none whatsoever.
There is, of course, exception for those who can’t
willfully sin; those who don’t understand the concept
of right and wrong. In their innocence they remain
pure. But for those of us who do know, Ash Wednesday
and Lent are a stark reminder that we are the
creatures, not the creator. Our mortality makes that
fact perfectly clear. We have all knowingly sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God. We deserve nothing
more than condemnation for our sin and no amount of
good deeds on our part can offset that truth. We are
dust and to dust we shall return.
The season of Lent is so important to us as
Christians because we can’t appreciate the gift God
has given us in Jesus Christ until we have grounded
ourselves in the truth of our mortality, our
sinfulness and the consequence we so rightly warrant.
We can’t appreciate the remedy if we don’t fully
understand our situation. Our situation is hopeless
apart from Christ. When we can see ourselves as we
are, we can cry out from the depths of our soul with
the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am
a person of unclean lips and I live among a people of
unclean lips . . .” But as Lent becomes Easter,
through Jesus Christ we hear the words, “your guilt is
taken away and your sin atoned for.”
What hope, what freedom, what joy is ours when the
weight of our sin is lifted from our shoulders. What a
precious gift God has given us . . . I challenge you
all this Lenten season to take an honest look at
yourselves and discover what a truly wonderful gift we
have been given by our indescribably magnificent God.
Grace and Peace, The Rev. Rob Hughes
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O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing