Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the special period of time each year that we use to prepare our hearts for Easter. 

During this time we give time to reflect on where we’ve gone wrong, where we need to repent – to turn away from our sins and turn towards our loving God who gave His all so we could live in loving relationship with Him forever. 

We need to turn away from the things we have done that are not good and true and right.  We also need to ask God to help us change and turn away from ways we live selfishly and without compassion, not doing things we should to care for and lift up others.

It’s a time to give alms – to compassionate sharing with others.  We live with such a fear of scarcity, both for now and for the future, that we often look past others who have legitimate needs that would benefit from our generosity. 

When I thought about how God sets us the example in this I was drawn to these words in Philippians 2.  Many of you will know these words, perhaps even by heart.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:3-8

Loving God, Too often we don’t live that way and we ask Your forgiveness for the times we’ve harmed others, either intentionally or unintentionally by what we’ve said or done, or by what we should have said or done but failed to do.

Help us to embrace Your love so we can live the humility Jesus modelled for us by laying down things that were rightfully His in order to come to earth to die for our sins.

Give us grace today to be those who allow You to change our hearts so we become more like You.  Amen 

What an honourable thing Jesus did by assuming the humble place.  Let’s follow His example today.