Lent Day 29 – Lenten Devotion – Tuesday, March 18, 2024
In the Cross of Jesus Christ I Glory
Bowring, Conkey
In the cross of Christ I glory
Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime
“The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.””
Our eyes and ears can play tricks on us if we are not careful. We think we see one thing, hear something, but it turns out to be something else completely different.
Our verse today follows the Voice from heaven. Some thought they were seeing and hearing something they could explain. Jesus makes clear where the Voice has come from, why the Voice has come, to whom the Voice was speaking. Jesus further makes clear the Voice is completely different from how the crowd tried to explain it.
Are you able to clearly see and hear the Christ and his glory in our midst? Are you able to see and hear the works of Christ, and then say with great conviction and faith, 'This is done for our sake in Christ alone'? Or do you try to explain it, and say 'This could be 'thunder,' or the work of another or mere coincidence'? As we continue our Lenten journey, glorifying God and God's grace alone, may we confess those times our eyes and ears and heart play tricks on us; those times we glory in things, rather than the cross, the cross of Christ alone.
There is no mistake; this One is completely different. In the completely different cross of Jesus Christ, you are alive and anew. In God's grace alone, we are made completely different, to forever clearly see and hear The Voice!
Let us pray: Jesus today I tell you there are times my eyes and ears can wander or get lost or mistake one thing for another. Today I make no mistake, I glorify you and your Voice and your grace alone. Keep speaking to me, for you have saved me, and in your cross alone I glory. In your name, I am completely different, and I pray. Amen.
