Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 – Morning
By Verna McLain
Who He Is
Read: Psalm 139:9
“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand will hold me.”
Albert Schweitzer, physician, theologian and musician, worked in a mission hospital in Africa from 1913 until the end of his life in 1965. He touched the lives of many. In his writing entitled: The Quest of the Historical Jesus, he wrote: “He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside. He came to those men who knew him not. He speaks to us the same word: “Follow thou me!” And sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience “Who He Is.”
Several years ago, I visited the Holy Land with a Church Street group. We walked the “Way of the Cross” stopping at the spots where Jesus stopped as He was carrying his cross. The steps were steep in places and it was as though we were walking with Jesus carrying our own cares and burdens that were holding us down and making the way more difficult. I am reminded of an old hymn-“Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No there is a cross for everyone and there is a cross for me.’’ Jesus died on that cross that he was carrying and set us free to serve Him and others. But first, we must let go of all the things that keep us from walking with Jesus – fears, anxieties, anger, hate, jealousy. Bring them to the cross and leave them and then walk away with renewed faith and hope.
So what task is Jesus setting you to follow after you leave your burdens and cares at the cross? Is He calling you to serve others? Is He asking you to teach a Sunday School class or serve on a committee? Is he asking you to run for public office. As Schweitzer said in his search for Jesus, Jesus will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts and the sufferings. Are you willing?
Jesus said: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Do we believe that? So what is our next step in our Quest to learn WHO HE IS?
Prayer
Jesus, walk with me in my trials, in my troubles, in my sorrows and in my Joys. Amen.
