“God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
What a good reading for the day before Lent begins! This passage shows us how our Father saw that everything he had created was good—and that it became “very good” once he created man and woman (Genesis 1:31). As far as God is concerned, we are the pinnacle of his creation!
Even with our fall from grace, we remain his favored, treasured creation. He valued us so much that he even promised us a Savior. Take a moment and savor the love God has for you: even in your sin, he loves you deeply and longs to bring you closer to his heart. He went so far as to send Jesus to give up his life for you!
Lent is the perfect time to ask God to work wonders in your life so that you can reflect the “very good” he wants for you more and more. It’s the perfect opportunity to let your heart be pierced by God’s love for you—and not only to have your heart pierced but softened as well. That way, he can mold you into that image more fully.
Let this truth sink in: God never tires of offering you his grace. He never tires of working with you so that you become more like him. In fact, he delights in taking his time with you! He wants to bring to perfection the work that he began with you, and he is willing to devote all the time necessary to do that—year after year, Lent after Lent.
So as Lent begins again this year, try your best to enter the season willing to change. Tell yourself that your heavenly Father wants to bring you into a deeper relationship with him. Trust that he wants to shape you so that you can reflect his goodness to the people around you. And most of all, know that if you want to receive these blessings, you will need to soften your heart toward him.
Come to the Lord today in prayer, open and ready to be taught. For the more open you are, the greater the blessings of God will flow in you.
“Father, I am amazed that you call me ‘very good!’ Come, Lord, and continue to form me in your own image and likeness.”
Psalm 8:4-9; Mark 7:1-13