As we near the end of Lent, and indeed we are already in Passiontide, I would like to give those who read this blog three verses from the New Testament to consider prayerfully. We all know them, but how often to we isolate them and apply ourselves to them and them to our own lives as Christians and Churchmen. I am not going to do more than give you book, chapter and verse so that you have to look them up yourselves.
The first is Matthew 18:3.
The second Luke 9:24.
The third Luke 17:10.
These should be your preparation for Holy Week and your Easter communion - if you dare.
Blessings.
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2 comments:
Those are tough passages - thanks for pointing them out. Ryle says this about Luke 9:24:
Now what do we know of all this? Surely this is a question which ought to be asked. A little formal church-going, and a decent attendance at a place of worship, can never be the Christianity of which Christ speaks in this place. Where is our self-denial? Where is our daily carrying of the cross? Where is our following of Christ? Without a religion of this kind we shall never be saved. A crucified Savior will never be content to have a self-pleasing, self-indulging, worldly-minded people. No self-denial--no real grace! No cross--no crown! "Those who are Christ's," says Paul, "have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts." (Gal. 5:24.) "Whoever will save his life," says the Lord Jesus, "shall lose it; but whoever will lose his life for My sake shall save it."
As you said, this is a powerful passage for Lent.
These verses were suggested to me by a friend. She noted them from a work of the famous Anglican mystic and spiritual director, Evelyn Underhill. Underhill had used them in a retreat she gave for priests in the English Church. But I believe that all of us need to face the radical demand which they put on everyone who calls themself a Christian.
There is a new book which I only briefly glanced at in Borders the other day. Its title, I believe, is Christian Atheism. Its theme is those of us who are Christians by faith but who deny the same by our actions or lack of same. These verses and an individual's reaction to them seems to carry the same story.
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