Parked

True confessions...Thursday evening, at the end (for me) of a very busy week, I had a break with no one in the house but me, so I laid down on the couch to do some reading. Laying down was my first mistake. Putting my iPad down do I could pray for a few moments was my second. The next thing I knew, I jolted awake, wondering what day it was and what time it was and could I still make it to choir rehearsal.

It was 7:30, the time when choir rehearsal begins, so I quickly threw on my shoes, jumped in the car and drove down to church. When I pulled in the parking lot, all of the "close" spots were taken, so I parked in front of the church, right in front of the tall cross we have there. And as I shut off my car and got out, it suddenly hit me where I was. I was parked at the foot of the cross.

The night before had been Ash Wednesday, and in that service, we together had declared not only that we are dust, that we are sinners, but that without the cross of Christ we have no hope, no way to redeem ourselves. We had, in essence, given this season of Lent over to staying near the cross, to refreshing our souls and to drawing closer to Jesus. And here I was, the very next evening, literally parked at the foot of the cross.

The more I thought about that image during the evening, the more I've realized that's exactly where I want to be during this holy season: parked at the foot of the cross. We spend so little time there. We sing about the cross, we look at the cross, we may even wear a cross around our necks...but how much time do we spend parked at the foot of the cross, contemplating what Jesus has done there, worshipping him for what he has done. Too often, I am like the rest of the disciples. While Jesus is hanging at Calvary, I'm off doing something else. I may even be doing good things in his name. I might even be helping a person or two, but that doesn't mean I'm with him. (Read Matthew 25 to see what I mean...and what Jesus thinks about that.)

Time at the foot of the cross reminds us who we are, and whose we are. The cross refocuses us. The Christ of the cross claims us. The cross calls us to love the one who gives his life there. Lent calls us to spend some time parked at the foot of the cross, and from there, to offer the salvation Jesus wins to the world.

I went on in to choir rehearsal...but my heart is still parked at the foot of the cross.


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