Daily Lent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Wednesday, March 31, Morning
By Laura Still, April 20, 2019
Affirmation of Faith
Read John 13:1
“Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
If you begin a sentence with who, what, where, or why, then the sentence should end in a question mark. We all learn that. During the season of Lent, there are many questions we ask. Why did Jesus have to die? Why did Jesus pray? Let this cup pass? What happened to Jesus’ body? Did Jesus always know he was going to be crucified? Why did Jesus cry out, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ These are questions asked in every Lenten study I have been a part of, and I have attempted to answer questions to the best of my ability in sermons and in lessons.
One of the first Lenten hymns I remember learning is “What Wondrous Love Is This” (#292 in the United Methodist Hymnal). It was just a decade or so ago that I paid attention to the missing question mark! The title is not a question but an exclamatory sentence! An affirmation.
What wondrous love is this!
This discovery coincided with my own spiritual growth and understanding. I had worked so hard to explain all the different atonement theories and make sense of the crucifixion. I wanted to be able to answer satisfactorily the questions people would ask in studies.
There is a freedom to accept God’s love and grace when we can exclaim, ‘What wondrous love is this!’ I encourage asking questions and I know full well that is an important and necessary part of our spiritual development. But, at some point, it became more important to me to be embraced by God’s love than being able to explain it.
What wondrous love is this!
Prayer
O God beyond all reason yet so accessible, we thank you that you love us and call us into a new understanding of life through your love. Amen.
