Lent 2010 - week 5

Image by stevesheriw via Flickr

All though Lent we have been looking at "giving up consumerism" and what it means to be rich towards God. Tomorrow we enter holy week, and we begin the journey to the cross - and beyond (but more of that next week).

For the last couple of weeks I, along with others, have been delivering "the meaning of Easter" lessons to year 8. As part of that we show the scene from the film "The Miracle Maker" where Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. Even though it is a cartoon, even though I have seen that part of the film what feels like a million times, it never grows old for me.

Because there for all to see, is the cost of love. The beginning of the price God paid (it being completed on the cross) to redeem us and all creation. Sometimes we can slip into the rote of Easter being here again, passing though the festival without stopping to look once again at the wealth of God's love as demonstrated in Jesus.

It is truly astounding. Jesus gave all he had, his very life - and he is the true example of humanity, the perfect demonstration of what it means to live as we were always meant to -in love worship and submission to God the Father.

How all our material goods, our passing difficulties and the things we think make us "somebody" pale into insignificance. As Paul said:

" I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ" Philippians 3:7-8

As we enter holy week, lets once again lay down our lives, fall in love again with Jesus and all he has done for us, walking with him to the cross.