In the beginning there is reflection

Lent is a dark and somber time for many. I agree, it's a time for quiet reflection and serious consideration of where we stand according to God's perfect will. But it is also like cleaning that area of your house that catches all the overflow. It's cluttered and crammed with lots of stuff, some useful some not, and a lot of stuff you'd be better off without. You put it off month after month (maybe even year after year), but eventually you need to reclaim that space and make it useful again. My spiritual life is full, but it's full of stuff too, some useful some not. I don't know that I'd be better off without any of it, but I want to be closer to Jesus and there're too many distractions in the way. So my goal during Lent is to spend time reading scripture and then reflecting on what I think God is saying to me. I'm using this blog as my medium because I tend to focus better when I'm writing on the computer. There. That's it. So, where do I go from here? God only knows, but I am open to his leading me and I welcome anyone else who wants to join this journey.

To start off, a couple of scripture readings have come to mind when I think about reflection.

James 1:22-25:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

and last week's memory verse from First Place for Health (FP4H), Romans 12:13:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, rather think of yourself with sober judgement according to the the measure of faith God has given to you.

I don't want to look at God's Word and forget what it says as soon as I walk away. More importantly, I don't want to read it and never grasp what God is saying to me in the first place. He has given me this "perfect law that gives freedom," and this "measure of faith" with which to interpret how this perfect law applies to me. If I don't do anything with it, if I don't look deep inside myself and see my Lord looking back at me, I am empty and I am useless. I want to measure up to the faith God has given me by studying his Word and holding it in my heart. I want to sing his song even if it makes me weep. I want to move my feet to the drumbeat of his grace even as he climbs the hill to Golgotha. I want to be there, to look into his eyes and to feel his pain.

This is foolishness to unbelievers. Why would we choose to suffer a broken heart? Why do we open oursleves willingly to pain and anguish? Because we need to look in the mirror and see our true sinful nature. Because we need to accept that Jesus willingly paid that price for us. Because on our own, we can never be worthy of that sacrifice. Because that's how we clean house, reclaim the dusty spaces of our heart and make it useful again. Because Jesus can only dwell in a broken heart.