A Life & Death That Really Matters

 A Life & Death That Really Matters

 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord ,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 1 Kings 19:4 NLT

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent.  We are reminded of our human mortality and our need for reconciliation with God. Ashes placed on one’s forehead in a formation of the cross symbolized the call to “turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel” or "remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”

The story of Elijah who was so depressed when Queen Jezebel said she will kill him after he had successfully eliminated the prophets of Baal, can help us understand the need to examine and understand our spiritual hearts in order to live a life that really matters and to die a death that will bear fruit in the lives of those we live behind. Even though we are dust and to dust we will return, the appearance of Elijah with Moses on Mount Tabor is a revelation of the spiritual dimension of life. In some of our churches, Transfiguration Sunday is celebrated on the last Sunday in Epiphany before Ash Wednesday.

The season of Lent challenges us to face the reality that we cannot live a life that really matters and die a fruitful death without being embraced by the love of God that is rooted in our identity as the beloved children of God. Danny Morris found that happiness can never be found by those who try to find it. The secret of a happy life lies in having a life that matters. We are wasting our time and playing the fool until we are ready to surrender our life to God totally - to die to self so that we can be alive to God.

In this season of Lent, I felt challenged to meditate on the parable of the sower and to live out the parable in the next forty days. It is a time to examine the condition of my heart and to go on a journey to transform the soil of my heart from a path, a stony ground and a thorny ground into a fertile soil.

Like Elijah, we may be tempted to feel that life is not worth living when we are depressed. This is the life position of a person with the belief that  “I’m not ok, you’re not ok.” In such times when we feel like dying, we can choose to die to self so that our hearts and minds will be opened to the Holy Spirit. There will be times when we feel that we are of no significance and that people are just walking all over us. When we live for success, wealth and the praises of men, our life is a path and God’s seed of love cannot take root.

I was led to memories of the program, “Ten Brave Christians: The John Wesley Great Experiment” or “A Life That Really Matters” that was promoted by Danny Morris in the church I was attending some forty years ago. It was a program that challenges people to put God first by:

 - sitting quietly in prayer and meditation at five-thirty a.m. for thirty days

- planning a totally unexpected and unselfish deed daily for thirty days

- writing bit by bit over a period of thirty days at five-thirty a.m. what he expects to make of his life

It was an experiment for anyone who has real concern about himself and his relationship with God. It was not recommended for anyone who does not have that concern. In fact, it did not make sense to me at that time. However, today I realized that it was a perfect experiment to understand and to live out the truths in the parable of the sower - to transform the path, stony ground and thorny ground of my heart into fertile soil for the seed of God’s  love.

Lent is a time, not for a spiritual performance to earn God’s favor, but a time for spiritual experiments to put Jesus Christ at the center of our lives through the cultivation of healthy spirit habits to make space in our lives for what truly matter. Spiritual habits are not the goal but the means to have a deeper intimacy with God.  

Transfiguration Sunday this year was also Valentine’s Day. This gave me another perspective of Lent -that it is not about giving up things or making sacrifices for God but all about falling in love with Jesus Christ and creating space in our hearts for the love of God.

Lent is a time to pray for our Shepherd of Love to examine our hearts and to lead us in the paths of righteousness for the glory of God. Let us explore spiritual practices that will open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit so that we will have the singleness of heart and  a new spirit within us when God takes away our stony, stubborn heart and give us a tender, responsive heart (Ezekiel 11:19 NLT). May this season of Lent be a time for us to encourage one another and glorify God as we share the experiences of our spiritual experiments to develop healthy spiritual habits.