Ash Wednesday

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and pow’r.

Refrain:
I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.

Let no other trust intrude.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

Today is Ash Wednesday, and for most people it comes and goes without a notice. For most Christians it passes with barely a thought. However, in a community of Christians seeking to understand a call to ministry it doesn't pass by. It lingers. It permeates. It seeps into the cracks of the campus. I smell burnt pop-corn, and I am reminded of the ashes on my head.

I love church tradition at its best, and I think Lent is church tradition at its very best. We sang "Come Ye Weary" today in our Ash Wednesday service. I was struck by the line, "Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall; if you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all." How true. We are ruined by the fall, and until we have wrestled with that and until we have accepted that fact, we truly will never come to Jesus. How great a God we serve that he has made a way to make right our ruin!

JD Walt's sermon was over Luke 9:24 (NIV) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

He challenged us to meditate on that truth. I have nothing to gain from this world, but everything to gain by giving my all to Christ. He said that Ash Wednesday is not about changing behavior, but instead is about changing the slavery of one's heart FROM sin TO Jesus. Get past what you are giving up, and get at what you're laying down.


Soundtrack: Come Ye Weary