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Read Romans 1:1-7
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1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
you… are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Romans 1:6
We have a junk drawer in our kitchen. It is filled with pencils, tools, markers, magnets, sunscreen, tape, pushpins, and a whole lot of other stuff. As the weeks go by, the drawer gets so packed that we forget what’s in there. When that happens, we dump the contents of the drawer on the counter and sort through all the items to determine what stays, what goes, and what needs to be put back in its rightful place.
Sometimes our lives are like junk drawers. We add activities and stuff to our calendars and, before we know it, there is no room for Jesus. He’s lost in the shuffle of life. We try to squeeze him in, but with so much going on, it’s difficult.
Lent is a season when we think about weeding out the “junk” in our lives. On this Ash Wednesday, we confess all our sinful junk, and remember that, without Christ, we are only dust. Yet we remember all he has done for us and the life that we receive through him. We confess, but have hope in him.
Lent is also a time when we take on new things, like daily time in God’s word. May this Romans series help us to do both this Lenten season. God bless, enrich, and guide you as you do so.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, weed out the junk in our lives so we can focus on Jesus. Amen.