Lent - Day 1 - Repent and Believe the Gospel

This morning's reading was from Joel 2:

The Lord thunders
    at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number,
    and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;
    it is dreadful.
    Who can endure it?
“Even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
    and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
    for the Lord your God.

I went to the church this morning for Ash Wednesday. I sat down in the pew and looked up at the large crucifix at the front. My eyes were locked on it for about 10 minutes as I pondered this physical representation of the most profound moment in human history:

• Jesus Christ, the creator being killed by his creatures.
• Jesus Christ, author of life, accepting to die.
• Jesus Christ, sinlessness embodied accepting my sin and all sin to be placed on his account making me not guilty.

The priest then began the service by reading the same passage from Joel 2 that we had read earlier that morning. When the Spirit of God speaks twice, better pay attention. And as it came time to come forward to receive the ashes, the priest and deaconess repeated the same five words to each penitent in line.

"Repent, and believe the Gospel."

"Repent, and believe the Gospel."

And as I bowed my head and received the ashes, the deaconess repeated those words to me.

"Repent, and believe the Gospel."

Quietly, I returned to my pew and pondered the challenge.

"Repent, and believe the Gospel."

Repent - to make a U-turn away from sinful living and selfish desire, and toward a wholehearted pursuit of Jesus. But how can I do this? Am I good enough?

Believe the Gospel - the Good News that I don't have to be "good enough" because when Jesus died, God placed on Him the punishment that was rightfully mine because of my sinfulness. In that singular moment, Jesus achieved for all of us what no one of us could do for ourselves: A right standing before God.

To believe the Gospel is to accept by faith that Jesus' death is the only way for me to come back into the relationship God intended for me to enjoy with Himself, the relationship first seen in the Garden of Eden when God and man spoke with one another and no barrier existed between the two.

This Lenten season, it is my hope and prayer that I will fully embrace repentance and truly believe the Gospel, and that my actions would speak louder than these words.