Summing Up
Have you ever given thought to how you have lived your life?
Give judgment for me, O Lord, for I have lived with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered. Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind. For your love is before my eyes; I have walked faithfully with you. I have not sat with the worthless, nor do I consort with the deceitful. I have hated the company of evildoers; I will not sit down with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, that I may go in procession round your altar, Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving and recounting all your wonderful deeds. Lord, I love the house in which you dwell and the place where your glory abides. Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with those who thirst for blood, Whose hands are full of evil plots, and their right hand full of bribes. As for me, I will live with integrity; redeem me, O Lord, and have pity on me. My foot stands on level ground; in the full assembly I will bless the Lord. - Psalm 26:1-12
The psalmist in today's reading seems to be getting ready to meet God. I have lived a good life, he is saying. I am ready to be judged by you.
Tomorrow begins the season of Lent, a time of introspection, when we examine ourselves and determine how close we have come to the person we believe God wants us to be.
That's all we can do, right?
If we fear God's judgment, we can either hope that the good we have done in our lives outweighs the bad, or we can believe that God will forgive all we have done, if we choose to come to Him with true remorse and seek forgiveness.
That is the purpose of Lent. It is not to blame ourselves for our failures, but to seek God's grace, which is offered freely, and accept it as we are, blemishes and all.
Yes, we should take stock, sum up our lives to this point and see if there is anything we could be doing or not doing, that would make a difference in how we feel about ourselves, and how we think God feels about us.
If we choose to make adjustments where we think they are needed, we will find ourselves living in the grace of God, even more so than we are now.
So, for me, Lent is a time of realignment. I get to check my course and reset the compass.
It may not be a big change, and it doesn't have to be. It could just be an acknowledgment of the positive choices I have made, and a decision not to repeat the ones I am not so proud of.
More to come...