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The scripture basis for our devotionals through Easter, and perhaps beyond, will now be the Gospel of Luke.
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Luke 4
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
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Right after his temptation Jesus decides to begin his public ministry in Galilee, the region in which he was raised. According to the Roman-Jewish scholar Josephus, Galilee had 204 villages or towns, none of which had less than 15,000 people. That would mean, amazingly, that this territory had upward to 3,000,000 people. Did Jesus start here because he knew he would be held in high regard or did he start here because this familiar territory gave him some comfort as he launched his public ministry? We don't know.
What we do know is that verse fifteen presents a picture which will only partially be maintained. Jesus does receive accolades and support because there were vast amounts of people hungry for something deeper spiritually, hungry for a better understanding of God's will and God's word, hungry to have a closer connection with God than the rituals of their religion allowed. As he does now, Jesus tapped into that very real desire each of us has to be close to God, not just formally aligned with God.
You do realize, don't you, that God's desire is to be in relationship with you; to have conversation with you; to have you feel His divine presence; for you to know in intimate spiritual fashion His caring for you?
Not only is Lent a time for the kind of spiritual discipline which causes us to assess our faithfulness to Christ, it is also a time to discern whether we have devotional practices which truly do keep us connected to God. I am appreciative of the number of responses to these Ponderings I receive wherein people indicate they help them begin the day with God. Truth is, we should begin our day with God, look for God in the midst of the day, and end our day reflecting with God.
C. S. Lewis put it wonderfully well when he said, He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.
So, discover this to be a truly holy Lent as you refine the spiritual habits and practices which help you know and keep close to the Father!
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