Sunday, March 08, 2009

The Power of the Cross: First Week of Lent, Saturday - The Cross of Christ Teaches Us How to Love

Ask — Do I allow God to love through me?

Seek — Keep before you the image of Jesus forgiving those who nailed him on the cross and see everyone with whom you come into contact through Christ. Think about how Christ died for those people and how precious they are as children of God, the same God who loves you.

Knock — Meditate on 1 John 4:11-12. Are there people whom you do not love? Ask God to fill you with his love. What does the Father see in these people that you don't? Ask God to heal you of any painful scars that you still suffer from what others might have done to you. Ask Jesus to touch his wounds from his crucifixion to your own woundedness, that it may become a source of blessing.

Transform Your Life — Put God first in your life. Realize that you can love your spouse, your children, your friends, and your enemies only to the degree that you keep God first. We tend not to expect others to be perfect if we worship the only One who is perfect.

(
The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life, pp. 49.)

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