What if Lent Could Rekindle Your Faith? Exploring the Kerygma
Life can take us on unexpected paths, and sometimes our faith journey can feel like it’s taken a detour. If you’ve found yourself distant from your faith, or if you’re simply curious about exploring it again, this Lenten season offers a gentle invitation to reconnect. These daily reflections focus on the Kerygma, the core message of Christianity – a message of love, hope, and new beginnings. We’ll be exploring eight key “Acts” of God’s story, from creation to our present call to partnership with Him. There’s no pressure, no judgment, just an invitation to consider a different perspective and perhaps rediscover a connection you thought was lost.
Act 7 of the Kerygma: The Invitation and the Choice
“While God extends a loving invitation to all, the ultimate decision to respond rests with each individual. We are free to choose to accept or reject God’s love. This choice has eternal consequences. By choosing to follow God, we embrace life in abundance, while choosing to reject him leads to separation and ultimately, death.”
Jeremiah 11:18-20
The LORD made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. But I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had devised plots against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name 1 will no longer be remembered.” 2 But you, LORD of hosts, who judge righteously, who probe heart and mind, let me witness your vengeance upon them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Reflection
Listen to the whisper of God’s heart today. Just as the Lord revealed the secret plots against Jeremiah, He sees and knows every intention, every struggle within your own heart. This passage from Jeremiah, though filled with the pain of betrayal, reveals a profound truth about our God: He is the one who “probes heart and mind.” He knows you intimately, even the parts you try to hide.
This deep knowing is not meant to condemn you, but rather to underscore the sincerity of His invitation. He sees the obstacles you face, the voices that might try to dissuade you from following Him, the temptations to turn away. Yet, His loving invitation remains, a beckoning towards a life of abundance found only in Him. Like Jeremiah, you may face opposition for choosing God, but remember that you have entrusted your cause to the One who judges righteously. Lent is a journey of deeper commitment, a daily “yes” to this invitation. Will you allow God’s intimate knowledge of you to draw you closer, trusting in His justice and embracing the life He offers?
Prayer
Loving God, you know me better than I know myself. Thank you for seeing my heart, my struggles, and my desires. Strengthen me to respond wholeheartedly to your invitation, even when faced with difficulty. Help me to trust in your righteous judgment and to choose the path that leads to life in abundance. Amen.
Action
Take a few moments today to reflect on a specific area of your life where you feel opposition to following God fully. Offer this struggle to Him in prayer, trusting in His understanding and strength. Make a conscious choice to lean into His invitation in that area, even in a small way.
The Kerygma
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post