Lent is the time we remember the sacrifice that was made to give us life. Oftentimes I have found myself guilty of placing Christ up on the cross, being a part of the crowd chanting to crucify him. I begin to think of myself as a failure when I remember times in my life when I missed the mark Jesus has set for me. I feel somewhat broken, a disappointment that isn’t worthy of the love God gives me.
One part of the Crucifixion story that has always confused me is when Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn at the same time. I never understood this until a friend told me that the curtain was the part of the temple that separated the room of God from the room for the people. This signifies that when Jesus died, the barrier between God and the people was broken, that we could be together.
I still felt at times that I wasn’t worthy of being in His presence, but as I read the Bible, I noticed that God never calls His children disappointments, or failures. He says that we are loved by Him and He has plans for us to prosper. Yet we often believe we are the exact opposite of that, that instead we are destined to fail. Whenever we put ourselves down, we put back up that curtain that Jesus tore down. We separate ourselves from God when all He wants is to be with us.
This Lent season, don’t be focused on feeling like a disappointment, but focus on the new life you are given and the opportunities that God gives you to live life to the fullest.
Brooks Lambert, St. Luke’s Youth
