How many of us have intended to make that our life’s chorus? How many of us have succeeded on all our days?
In preparing my heart for the coming celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, I am reading Bread and Wine, Readings for Lent and Easter. Its purpose is to lead readers into a time of preparation, examining hearts for any existent spiritual complacency and self serving sins in order to focus more fully on Christ. For it is in Christ – in His suffering and death, His resurrection and triumph – that we find our truest joy.
The various authors speak about our need to lay aside self-pretense, identify with Christ’s suffering, and put to death everything of the world that has a hold on us. For only in so doing can we break through the husk of our individual independence, submit to our Lord and declare our unfettered love and allegiance, not for finding comfort, ease or freedom from pain, but simply for His own sake.
Only in so doing will we come to understand and believe, that the sufferings of this present time {this life} are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us . . . rather, in all these things we {will} overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor LIFE, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:18, 37-39
All to Jesus I surrender . . . yearning to live moment by moment in your presence, oh Lord, I surrender all . . .
annebroaddus 