A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow
Day 40: Thankful (Luke 22:19)
What are you thankful for today?
In the Gospels we see Jesus giving thanks for bread, for food, for God's providence. The night before he went to the cross, Jesus presided over the Passover meal with his disciples. He took the bread and the cup, offering thanks for them.
He knew full well what those items would come to represent. He even gave the bread and wine new meaning at the meal with his friends - this is my body broken for you; this is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you. He knew what was coming, and yet he offered thanks.
Today is Holy Saturday and the final day of Lent. It's a day of reflection on the cross and the sacrifice of Christ. We remember his broken body and his blood which washes away our own uncleanness and unrighteousness. May we never take these things for granted as long as we live.
I simply want to leave you with some Scriptures to reflect on for a few minutes today.
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)
For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrificed for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
Amen.