Jesus is the patient gardener
and he patiently cultivates his grace in your life and in mine,
-- especially, when we’re not bearing fruit.
A problem is that many of us may be oblivious to God’s patience
because we never acknowledge the things in our lives that beg for it.
That’s why, in the Gospels,
Jesus calls us to repent.
He calls us to examine our lives,
to see if we have yielded the fruit he looks for
and patiently waits for us to produce.
How long will he be patient with us?
Look at the burning bush!
the Lord's patience with us burns like a heart afire --
but it’s never consumed, never exhausted: it never gives up on us.
The Lord’s loving heart burns bright for us always,
warming us with his light, his mercy, his pardon.
The flame of his patient love for us never goes out, it never dies.
Lent is a season, perhaps THE season
for us to remember how patient God is with us –
and a season for us to remember why and how much
we stand in need of God’s merciful and patient love and pardon.
and he patiently cultivates his grace in your life and in mine,
-- especially, when we’re not bearing fruit.
A problem is that many of us may be oblivious to God’s patience
because we never acknowledge the things in our lives that beg for it.
That’s why, in the Gospels,
Jesus calls us to repent.
He calls us to examine our lives,
to see if we have yielded the fruit he looks for
and patiently waits for us to produce.
How long will he be patient with us?
Look at the burning bush!
the Lord's patience with us burns like a heart afire --
but it’s never consumed, never exhausted: it never gives up on us.
The Lord’s loving heart burns bright for us always,
warming us with his light, his mercy, his pardon.
The flame of his patient love for us never goes out, it never dies.
Lent is a season, perhaps THE season
for us to remember how patient God is with us –
and a season for us to remember why and how much
we stand in need of God’s merciful and patient love and pardon.
