Day 1. Jesus: Willing
The 40 days of Lent lead to Easter in the Christian calendar. For years, one of my Lenten disciplines has been a daily blog. This year, our focus is on Jesus as our model, as well as our Redeemer and Savior.
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---JESUS WAS WILLING---
Jesus demonstrates God's willingness to engage with us, no matter what others think or expect. Mark 1: 40-41 tells how a man with leprosy came to [Jesus] and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
Jesus was indignant (with the onlookers who wanted to make a spectacle out of the sick man.) He reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean."
Time and again, Jesus ignores conventions of how religious people should behave. He defies the conventions of "proper behavior" to show how much God cares about us. He does the work of his Father without hesitation or self-consciousness.
*Assessment: Are we willing to step out of the box, to go beyond cultural habits or restrictions, in order to love and care for others like God does?
Look around you. Where is God requesting your willing obedience?
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---JESUS WAS WILLING---Jesus demonstrates God's willingness to engage with us, no matter what others think or expect. Mark 1: 40-41 tells how a man with leprosy came to [Jesus] and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
Jesus was indignant (with the onlookers who wanted to make a spectacle out of the sick man.) He reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean."
Time and again, Jesus ignores conventions of how religious people should behave. He defies the conventions of "proper behavior" to show how much God cares about us. He does the work of his Father without hesitation or self-consciousness.
*Assessment: Are we willing to step out of the box, to go beyond cultural habits or restrictions, in order to love and care for others like God does?
Look around you. Where is God requesting your willing obedience?
