Fifth Week of Lent

This morning, Tony and I read over the devotion for the fifth week of lent over fried eggs, fresh buns and coffee. We quietly sat down in our comfortable home, on our comfortable chairs amidst our comfortable life and read ...

We were reminded of 'The Passion of Christ' ... the word 'passion' comes from a latin word that actually means suffering. This is some of what we read:

"In modern times, we have come to apply the word to any kind of strong
feeling, or commitment, though more properly it describes a suffering for some worthwhile thing.
We have lost this sense of the word, in part perhaps, because there is so little
of this kind of passion left in the western world. There is little we care
enough about to suffer for. However, we are still prone to 'suffering' ...
but of another kind. The root meaning of 'suffering' that we find in the
word 'passion' occurs also in the related word, 'passive'. And though we
don't associate passivity with strong feelings, the passive person suffers as
well. But this suffering comes from outside forces and is the result of
inactivity and lack of direction. How different is the passion of
Jesus: directed by God and willingly accepted ... In Jesus we see
not only the full depth of God's passion for us and the suffering that was a
necessary part of it, but the full depth of one perfect human's passion for
God: obedience that led to death.

How do we respond to God's call to follow Him? Are
we passionate? Or passive? Both ways lead to suffering: if
passionate, we actively choose God's way and follow Jesus obediently, often
suffering as He did; if passive, the suffering we experience is not part of
God's plan for us, and is the pain of being distant from Him, out of His
will. To walk with Jesus, who said, 'Take up your cross and follow Me', we must accept God's direction and choose to follow the path laid out for us. This is a path of certain passion (suffering), but also certain HOPE, because Easter always follows Lent."

At first, we remarked at how foolish this sounds! The Bible says that the good news is 'foolishness to those who do not believe' and I can see how ... either way we get SUFFERING. But are we suffering with purpose and clarity of vision? or are we suffering out of a defiance of God's perfect will and plan for our lives? Do we have passion with HOPE or a hopeless passivity that causes misdirection and a fear of that which (and WHO) we cannot see with our earthly eyes? I think I will reread that little book by Bruce Wilkinson today: "Secrets of the Vine". It's a good one ...

My prayer today: "Lord, thank You for Your great mercy and willingness to suffer for me - so that I may live eternally in Your presence. Thank You for providing for me - and knowing what I need when I am too ignorant and desensitized to the prompting of Your Spirit, to even know what to ask for. You give me strength, courage and wisdom to continue on this narrow path of faith. May You be pleased with my life and receive glory for the good work You continue to do in my heart as I live a resurrected life in and through the Holy Spirit that You have so graciously provided for me. You are a great and wonderful God and I am overwhelmed by You. May I bless Your holy Name today, Lord Jesus. Amen."