Every so often, I like to look back through my old journals and see where I was a year, two years ago, today. In prayer this morning, I really felt moved to do that, to look back, so I did.
Last year, on March 25, we had just finished our middle school spring retreat. It was nice to read all my prayers of thanksgiving to God about how well the retreat went, and how wonderful it was to serve and what an experience it was to see the youth encounter mercy and forgiveness in a powerful way. Then, at the end of my entry for that day, I completely switched gears to this reflection upon the act of Mary of Bethany anointing the feet of Jesus. (Maybe it was the reading for the day or something?) Here's a snippet of what I had to say:
"When we pour ourselves out to Jesus, we are affected. We are made more beautiful. When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us."
Whoa. Now, you don't have to be impressed with my last-year-self', but I was. I had to stop and re-read that a few times. That was deep. When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us. That's awesome. But then I started thinking... that sure sounds nifty, but is it actually true? How do we adorn Christ? He is perfect and full and complete. He is Divine Majesty. We can't give Him anything He doesn't already have...
Except - for ourselves. Yes, He created us, He sustains us, He is always with us, He is within us... but He has given us the gift to choose freely. Our lives, our choices, our love... those are ours. Why did God do this? So that we could choose to love Him back. Any love not freely given isn't really love at all. He designed everything so that we could offer ourselves back to Him, including all of our flaws. In doing that, we enter more fully into His love and it is in that offering that we become fully alive. And what does this do on God's end?
There's this captivating passage in the book of Isaiah. It's one of the sections where things look more hopeful for the people of Israel, who are in exile at the time. If you have time today, read all of Chapter 62. The first three verses go a little something like this:
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give you. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." -Isaiah 62:1-3
This is SO, SO beautiful. This nation of people that God has loved and promised fidelity to, turned their back on Him and were sent into exile. And they've been trampled upon and enslaved and forgotten... but God doesn't forget. He's coming for them. He will stand up and fight for them, and redeem them. And after He rescues them, even though they've been sinful, He will make them new and they will be His crown of beauty and glory!
They will adorn Him. Why? They didn't do anything to earn it. They didn't say or do all the right things. They just gave themselves to Him. They turned back to Him. They cried out to Him in their brokenness. They gave Him their wounds and hurts and sins, and He gave them healing and love and mercy. The same goes for us. We were made to give ourselves to God. We need to turn back to Him in our brokenness, because He is waiting to rescue us. He is waiting to give us Himself. This is the communion of love that we were created for.
This Lent, give all you have to Jesus. He is waiting for you, to pour out upon you all the goodness He is. "When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us." He adorns us with His love, and we are made new. We become more like Him - more compassionate, more forgiving, more merciful, more beautiful and more alive.
Last year, on March 25, we had just finished our middle school spring retreat. It was nice to read all my prayers of thanksgiving to God about how well the retreat went, and how wonderful it was to serve and what an experience it was to see the youth encounter mercy and forgiveness in a powerful way. Then, at the end of my entry for that day, I completely switched gears to this reflection upon the act of Mary of Bethany anointing the feet of Jesus. (Maybe it was the reading for the day or something?) Here's a snippet of what I had to say:
"When we pour ourselves out to Jesus, we are affected. We are made more beautiful. When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us."
Whoa. Now, you don't have to be impressed with my last-year-self', but I was. I had to stop and re-read that a few times. That was deep. When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us. That's awesome. But then I started thinking... that sure sounds nifty, but is it actually true? How do we adorn Christ? He is perfect and full and complete. He is Divine Majesty. We can't give Him anything He doesn't already have...
Except - for ourselves. Yes, He created us, He sustains us, He is always with us, He is within us... but He has given us the gift to choose freely. Our lives, our choices, our love... those are ours. Why did God do this? So that we could choose to love Him back. Any love not freely given isn't really love at all. He designed everything so that we could offer ourselves back to Him, including all of our flaws. In doing that, we enter more fully into His love and it is in that offering that we become fully alive. And what does this do on God's end?
There's this captivating passage in the book of Isaiah. It's one of the sections where things look more hopeful for the people of Israel, who are in exile at the time. If you have time today, read all of Chapter 62. The first three verses go a little something like this:
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give you. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." -Isaiah 62:1-3
This is SO, SO beautiful. This nation of people that God has loved and promised fidelity to, turned their back on Him and were sent into exile. And they've been trampled upon and enslaved and forgotten... but God doesn't forget. He's coming for them. He will stand up and fight for them, and redeem them. And after He rescues them, even though they've been sinful, He will make them new and they will be His crown of beauty and glory!
They will adorn Him. Why? They didn't do anything to earn it. They didn't say or do all the right things. They just gave themselves to Him. They turned back to Him. They cried out to Him in their brokenness. They gave Him their wounds and hurts and sins, and He gave them healing and love and mercy. The same goes for us. We were made to give ourselves to God. We need to turn back to Him in our brokenness, because He is waiting to rescue us. He is waiting to give us Himself. This is the communion of love that we were created for.
This Lent, give all you have to Jesus. He is waiting for you, to pour out upon you all the goodness He is. "When we adorn Christ, that act adorns us." He adorns us with His love, and we are made new. We become more like Him - more compassionate, more forgiving, more merciful, more beautiful and more alive.