Devotional 3-31-17

To Follow Christ

              

Here, O Christ, our sins we see,
Learn Thy love while gazing thus;
Sin, which laid the cross on Thee,
Love, which bore the cross for us.

Here we learn to serve and give,
And rejoicing, self-deny;
Here we gather love to live,
Here we gather faith to die.”

--Elizabeth Charles

When I read these words from an old Methodist hymnal recently, I felt that it expressed what I am thinking about during these days of Lent:  to look at Christ and his purity and his sacrifice, to see my sins, my lack of love, to learn of Him and to seek and follow Him more closely as long as I live.

Lent is a time to reexamine our lives, to seek to follow in Christ’s steps.  However, I know we need others to encourage us and to hold us in love.  May all of us who read our Lenten devotions, open our hearts, seek God’s presence, think about Jesus, and share his love in all the ways we can.

Please think on these verses:

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:8-9

“Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”  Mark 8:34

Martha Casey