Photo by Joren Goessens on Unsplash

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I remember my first car … a 1966 Ford Mustang.  I saved money from years of yard work, pool cleaning, and babysitting. When I had enough, it was mine. It wasn’t much to see, but at its heart was a 289 cubic-inch V-8 powerhouse. Believe me, there was a lot of life in that engine. Probably too much for a new driver. One day day though, as I drove it, the engine started smoking and it flat quit. Good news is, I’d saved more money. So, I towed my car to the garage where a mechanic rebuilt the engine … restoring it to like new condition.

This memory brings to mind how God works in our lives. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul encourages Christ’s church in Corinth and His church today, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) As human beings, born with human nature inherited from our first father and mother – Adam and Eve, we are sinful. Our hearts, the source of love within us, become clogged with filthy sin – causing our spirit to decline and die over time. Much like my old Mustang, due to sin, the engine of love within us falls apart and stops working as God intended. God never created us to live with hearts broken by sin. He created us to have whole hearts capable of loving, selfless service in His creation.

Like my Mustang, our hearts cannot repair themselves. My Mustang required me and a mechanic to step in to restore its engine to new life. And together we did. When it came out of the shop, my ’66 ‘Stang ran like new again. Paul reminds us of the one person who can restore our hearts. He reminds us to remember … remember God’s mercy. In His mercy, He alone can restore our hearts to better than new condition. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He reconciles … restores … our hearts to His originally intended condition. He restores our hearts to be capable of selflessly loving Him and those around us.  Through Jesus’ sacrificial and loving death on the cross, our Father mercifully forgives the sin that continually seeks to clog our hearts … keeping them from loving as He intended. Paul writes, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself … in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

But God doesn’t stop there. He reconciles us for a purpose. Paul reminds of God’s purpose, “(He is) entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (Making us) ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20) In this Lent to Remember, we remember God’s mercy so we can help others, by the power of the Holy Spirit, discover and remember that same mercy! Jesus didn’t come to restore a select few. He came to save the entire world (2 Corinthians 5:19). He’s called us to be His ambassadors, His representatives, to that world … proclaiming His good news of reconciliation to all continuing to live in darkness so they too can be restored to better than new condition.

                                                                                        In His Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim