It is a paradox: many of the very best–the most valuable–things in life are free; but they may not be easily or casually appreciated. Many a valuable gift is wasted on someone who does not know how to properly receive it: the faithful love of a good woman is wasted on a stupid and self-absorbed man; the patient gentleness of a father is squandered on a foolish and willful son; and years of honest service are taken for granted by employers who “know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Love, patience, service–these things cannot be bought, they cannot be compelled; they can only be received as a gift when they are appreciated and valued. We complain that there is a lack of these things in the world, but we could, with equal justice, complain that there is a general inability to appreciate and rightly receive these things. So, how do we learn to rightly appreciate and receive the good gifts all around us? It’s simple, we make preparation we make space for them in our lives.
We cannot receive what we do not appreciate and are not prepared to receive. We cannot apprehend what we are not aware of. Many of us miss the best things in life because we are not prepared to receive them, we do not value or notice them. We’ve made provision and preparation for all kinds of secondary matters–our retirement, kid’s education, vacations. But we often fail to make provision and preparation for those things that can only be received in a heart disposed to accommodate them.
The season of Lent is about preparing the heart and mind to receive the greatest gift of all—the love of God manifest in Jesus’ death on the cross. Holy Week is largely lost on those who do not prepare during Lent. For the unprepared, the events of Holy Week are either incomprehensible or irrelevant. One cannot just blunder into Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter Sunday. Unless we’re prepared the sadness and urgency of Maundy Thursday are lost on us; unless we take time to we wait on God the agony and death of hope–the supreme sacrifice that seemed so futile–that is Good Friday are incomprehensible to us. And without the quiet season of Lent, the miracle and mystery of life out of death, and unlooked for joy out of desolation that is Easter are only idle tales to us.
But to those who allow God to work in their hearts during Lent, who make space in their lives for prayer and reflection, the events of Holy Week become the vehicles to receive the very best of life: the knowledge of the Love of God, the gentle patience of Jesus, and the sacrifice of the Savior that no words can express. Friends, make time to observe the season of Lent. Take time to prepare to receive the greatest gift of all, new life in Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rev. Don Muncoe
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