Lent@Landmark: Day 29
For today's Lent reflection I ask you to read a newspaper article: “This Texas Teen Wanted an Abortion, Now She Has Twins,” by Caroline Kitchener in the Wall Street Journal.
I share it not to solicit commentary and arguments over the issue of abortion, but as a pastor of a church called to shepherd disciples of Jesus Christ, to challenge my fellow Christians to think about two things:
(1) all of the moments in this young woman's 18 years in which we COULD have been present to love, support, and serve her, and
(2) the few moments we DID choose to show up--which were opportunities to use her life when it served OUR interests and helped us raise money.
Click here for a link to the article. After finishing the article, then read below.
As we continue in the season of Lent, what would it look like for us to repent of those things in the church that don’t reflect the heart of Christ?
As Easter approaches, what would it look like for the church to be resurrected to new life?
Let us pray that we would more closely follow the Savior who stepped out of the comforts of eternity and into the lives of people of all ages—to be present in every kind of moment; whether in the deepest darkness, the greatest joy, or every other kind of moment in between.
As Easter approaches, let's us not invite people to our churches to boost our attendance numbers, but as an opportunity to create growing communities in which we are present for one another—at any time in any situation—as Jesus was present for us.
