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let it go (and leave it at the cross)


on sunday in worship we talked about some of those negative perceptions of ourselves which we have come to own because we have listened too long and too well to the impostor (see yesterday's post).  and we remembered together what God has to say on the subject, that we are loved and chosen and worth every ounce of sweat and blood that God could shed.  it's a beautiful love - more beautiful than we can possibly behold or comprehend.  and so, rather than trust in it and live into it, we so often opt for denying it all together, or buying into a lie instead, a lie which has been slithering it's way into our ears since life first sprung from the garden.  "don't trust God," the lie says.  "trust yourself.  you know better than God."

and so we trust ourselves.  and ourselves come to believe that we are unlovable and fat and worthless and unforgivable.

so at church on sunday, we wrote some of those lies down, some of those old and well-worn perceptions of ourselves which only serve as heavy and unnecessary baggage on the journey.  we wrote then down, owned them, and then took them to the cross in our sanctuary and put them on the cross, as a reminder that Jesus put to death all that stuff.  his love gives victory.  it gives hope.  it gives life.  it causes life to burst forth from all the cracks.  so we need to surrender our death-clamp on the lies that keep us from believing and embracing and experiencing all that color-bursting, hope-filled, heart-thumping life.

what about you?  are you feeling a bit aimless this lent?  there's still time.  why don't you begin by spending some time in prayer and meditation, reflecting on what false images of yourself you are carrying around, holding you down and holding you back and keeping you from really resting in the loving embrace of God?  start there.  leave the garbage at the cross.  and see where this journey of lent will lead you....

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