Think a Minute: This week is Holy Week in many church traditions. It is the week which commemorates Christ’s last supper with His disciples, His Crucifixion and ultimately His resurrection from the dead. This week, as we follow Christ on His journey, I can’t help but think that this is a great week to contemplate our own lives in a spiritual sense. The more I think about it, the more I want to fall on my knees before the Lord, in awe of His great love and sacrifice and of course His victory over death. It makes me want to repent.
For most of us, the word “repentance” conjures up images of medieval monks in sackcloth and ashes or Old Testament prophets tearing their garments in anguish. But repentance is much more than self-abasing, more than regret, more than deep sorrow for past sins; and it applies to everyone. The Biblical word for repentance is “metanoia” in the original Greek. “Meta” means “change” and “noia” means, “min,” so literally it means ” change of mind.” So if one thinks about it, repentance is full of radical implications, for a fundamental change of mind not only turns us from the sinful past, but transforms our life plan, values, ethics, and action as as we begin to see the world through God’s eyes rather than ours. This kind of transformation requires the ultimate surrender of self.
This week, seek God with all of your heart as you contemplate the death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Week is a great time to come face to face with who we really are. This can be a difficult process, because the hidden self is buried deep inside our hearts, and as the prophet Jeremiah warned, the human heart is deceitful above all things. Confronting that true self can be a painful discovery. But this is the time. God’s Son, died and rose again so we can be our true selves, so we can be forgiven and live free of guilt and sin. Bringing our battles, our failures, our sins to Him is the healthiest thing we can do if we want to live our lives with freedom and love. Christ is waiting for you right now. Won’t you go to Him?
Pastor Rob Pesola