Hope to Carry On: February 15, 2024

Lenten Devotional Book 2024

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

“We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20b

God is love, or so we’re told / God seeks us out, like precious gold / A lost little lamb, to God we be / God won’t rest ‘til God finds us, She / And if we make a mess of life / God sees right through our every strife / and though we hide our wounds from God / God finds the effort so very odd / for the only desire of God for we / is to live with God in eternity / and though we may feel quite frail – at odds / we learn, regardless, that we are God’s.

“We entreat you – be reconciled to God!” The days at the start of Lent are short, the nights still long. I find it hard to whip up much enthusiasm for much of anything. And yet, when I open those sleepy little peepers of mine, I spy the light of One divine. “Be reconciled,” shouts Paul. Yes, I’m sure he’s shouting. I’m getting old and hard of hearing. “What’s that you say?” I ask of him. “Be reconciled to God, I said,” says he. In other words, God’s looking for me. God wants me. God expects me to come in for dinner. Of course! The street lights are on. That’s the sign to come home.

I come a-runnin’, or a-hobbling as the case may be. I come running, because I’ve got hope. It ain’t no wish. I’m hoping for a tasty meal. Dinner’s on, the bell’s a-ringin’, and God ain’t ne’er let me down yet. That gives me hope to carry on.

Lord God, I look to you when I cannot see. Show me your Light; illuminate my path. The way looks dark and scary, and my energy reserves are low, so I place myself in your hands. Filled with hope, I can now go. Amen.
-Fr. Keith Axberg