Our Lenten Devotion for Thursday, March 17, comes to us from Steadfast Love which features reflections and prayers by Ed Arle and Gil Duchow with inspiration from the works of Henri J.M. Nouwen.
3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3 NIV
“Life in Christ”
Not long ago, doctors told my friend they had nothing more they could do for him. They had lost all hope. At his funeral, however, the priest said, “Modern medicine may have reached the end of its power, but God’s power was just beginning.” Jesus brought that truth home at the graveside of his friend Lazarus. Speaking with Lazarus’s sister Martha, Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.” To that, Martha replied, “I believe he’ll rise again at the resurrection on that last day.” That was when Jesus pulled this magnificent trump card of faith: “I am the resurrection.” To have Jesus is to live in his resurrection here and now. St. Paul said: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Hidden with Christ through faith, we can truly say, “Wherever I go there goes Jesus.”
Friends –
Even in the face of death, Christ lives in us, giving hope and rest for eternal life with God. Ultimately, this is the faith that sustains us in every circumstance.
--Pastor bea
Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, should the day ever come that I hear all hope is gone for me in this life, remind me that Jesus is my hiding place, that he is in me, and I am in him. Amen.