First Sunday of Lent: Restore

Gospel of the day: Matthew 4:1-11

Happy First Sunday of Lent! Sunday is known as the day of rest, a day to rewind, reflect, and relax. But for Jesus in today’s Gospel, he experienced the opposite. On this beginning of Lent and Jesus’ forty days and nights fasting in the desert, he experiences nothingness, torrent,along with a bit of chaos. This would not be considered an ideal Sunday.

But on this journey, Jesus knows what is ahead. He knows the state of this world and how that was never the plan.  Man has been tempted, corrupt, and given up on the Lord. But Jesus doesn’t want to neglect his people, He wants to restore us. He knows he has one mission and one mission only: salvation and restoration.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” – Psalm 51:12

You know how when you workout for the first time in a while you get more winded and have less stamina? Well, that was me today. I probably looked so silly at the gym trying to jump back into the game at 110% when I knew I should take time to build my strength up so I don’t overdue it and hurt my body further. This really taught me how hard it is to jump back into something so complex when for so long you have just been sitting on the sidelines watching other people. We don’t want someone to help restore our health, we depend on ourselves.

This got me thinking of our relationship with Christ. Why do we care more about restoring our physical bodies, when we should be working on restoring our soul and spirals bodies. When we go days, even months, without pursuing a healthy relationship with Him, we find it hard to get back in the groove of things. We see other people and their relationship’s with Christ and we get envious..Why is that? Are we not invested in a relationship with Christ, but rather a realltionship with this passing world?

We know Christ came down to earth to restore all. Not just those who pray 4729279x a day, fast every day, and only listen to Christian music.

Through this time sitting on the sidelines, I learned that the game is better. To be in the game is when priories the are in check. My heart feels fuller, my eyes are on the prize, and I know there’s nowhere but up.

Today when Jesus is being tempted by the devil, we learn how this is what our priorities should be: GOD AND GOD ALONE. We learn that this salvation and restoration Christ came down from heaven for is upon us.

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”At this, Jesus said to him,”Get away, Satan!It is written:

The Lord, your God, shall you worshipand him alone shall you serve.” – Matthew 4:9-11

Christ’s self sacrificing love restores us all. He teaches us that to Him and Him alone should we depend on. We should never sit in the sidelines of our faith. This is our game, our life, our salvation at hand.. Come, and let Him RESTORE you.