Excerpt from Hebrews 1:8-12

"You, Lord, are always the same, and your life never ends." (Good News Bible)

Reflection by William C. Green

When my son turned fourteen he was puzzled by his inability to enjoy the amusement park where we'd passed many summer days. He kept going on the same roller coasters that had thrilled him. He kept riding the bumper cars he once loved. He again threw balls at moving targets to win the toys he'd been drawn to collecting. But the harder he tried to enjoy himself the more disappointed he felt. Something was wrong. Something had changed. It was time to move on.

One writer said, "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."

Lent is a good time to ask ourselves what we're going to have to die to for faith to grow, what we're going to have to leave behind. The God who never changes is present in ways we may not have fully anticipated—as when we're lost and alone, when we're suffering, when doubt runs strong, or when the plight of others cries out for our attention.

In God, our life never ends but we're called to move on. We will find new ways of believing and seeing what's always there, seeking us out, loving us, leading us, and supporting us.

Prayer

God, help us to let go of belief we have outgrown. May we move with you into the new life you have in store for us. Amen.

About the Author William C. Green is Vice-President for Strategy and Development, Moral Courage Project, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and the author of 52 Ways to Ignite Your Congregation: Generous Giving.

Join the conversation with others reading the Give It Up! Lent Devotionals 2012 @ facebook.com/GiveItUp2012.