2017 Belmont University Lenten Devotional Guideنمونہ

In church when the creation stories of Genesis are discussed, we tend to hear about them in the past tense, understandably considering English translations use the phrases “God created the heavens and the earth” and “God made humans in his likeness.” Though we don’t always realize it, the simplest choice in diction can make all the difference in a person’s understanding, and this was definitely true for me. Having read these tales and listened to pastors describe this past constructing of the earth certainly made it seem that God, though still active in the world, had moved on from creating. He gave the blueprints for the structure of earth and the initial beings to inhabit it, and then, He stepped out of His role as Creator. However, the designated passages for today portray a different story. Not only do they describe God as “the builder of everything” that has been established in the past, they assert with confidence that God “will create new Heavens and a new earth,” projecting His actions into a future time. So we see that God is not yet done in His creation process. Similarly, if God is the ultimate builder and “we are His house,” God is still building, creating and shaping us into a dwelling place capable of housing the peace, hope and love He desires for us. The Lenten season is part of that creating and building process. During this time, we “fix [our] thoughts on Jesus” and His sacrifice, the foundation on which God is building us, by discovering what it means for us to sacrifice. When we sacrifice and reflect on its connection to Jesus’s sacrifice, we make room for the materials (faith, gratitude and confidence in Christ, to name a few) that can help form a more solidly structured “house” than one founded on our own strength and actions. God is using our experiences, whether they be filled with hope and abundance or heartache and want, all of which may occur both in and outside of the Lenten season, to create us and assist us in becoming what He intends for us to be. So then, let us be aware this Lenten season of how our sacrifices, so minimal in comparison to the grand gesture of Jesus Christ, are being used by God to create in us a stronger foundation for His “house.” ALLISON HARDEE Senior Mathematics Major