Lenten Meditation: March 9, 2025
The First Sunday in Lent
Daily Scripture Passage: Luke 4:1-13
Lent is a season of transformation, a time when God calls us to examine our hearts and reorient our lives toward God. In Luke 4:1-13, Jesus enters the wilderness, led by the Spirit, and faces the devil’s temptations. Each challenge tests his identity and mission, yet he responds with unwavering trust in God’s word. Where Israel failed in the desert, Jesus remains faithful, showing us what it means to have a heart wholly devoted to God.
When people ask me, “Why should I go to church?” I remind them that the goal of worship is to bring us to a transformative encounter with Jesus Christ. In other words, worship is not simply an act of praise, but it is a particular orientation of the heart. What we worship shapes us. If we worship power, we become consumed by control. If we worship success, we are ruled by fear of failure. But when we worship the God who has been revealed in Jesus Christ, we are remade in God’s image—our desires are reordered, our priorities realigned, and our hearts softened to love as he loves.
Lent invites us to return to this kind of worship. To have a new heart is to live as Jesus did—grounded in scripture, guided by the Spirit, and shaped by trust in God’s love. Let us worship God alone, trusting that in the wilderness, God is making us new.