Lent Day 5
Lent Day 5
Hymn “Lord I Want to Be a Christian” Lord, I Want to Be a Christian | St. Cecilia Choir (youtube.com)
Favorite Line” Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart, in my heart. Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart”
Why: “It keeps my focus on Christ in my moments of struggle. To have a pure and focused heart. I often sing this line to myself when someone is annoying me or when I’m overwhelmed. It gives me a purpose.”
I have absolutely loved this devotion because I get to learn so much about the people of Hope UMC. Without this devotion, we would never have known that there is someone in this congregation who is singing “Lord, I want to be a Christian” when they get annoyed. I think that is so great, and I hope they never have to sing it when dealing with me, but who knows? All jokes aside it is a great reminder to us all. Being a Christian is something that has to penetrate our hearts. It is not just something that we do every once in a while. It is not something we do on Sundays or when we are feeling up to it. No, it is something that should govern our hearts and thus our actions. Because we love Jesus so deeply in our hearts, instead of acting out against that person annoying us, we are going to sing a song. And it’s something that we need continual reminders to live into. We need Jesus’ help to transform our hearts and thus our actions toward being more loving and holy.
This person says it gives them a purpose. The purpose of being a Christian more fully. We would call this becoming a disciple. The process of growing in our love of God and our love of neighbor. It is something that we should all strive for. That in everything we do we are acting as those who want to have Jesus more fully in their hearts. And yes, it’s a struggle. And yes, we are going to make mistakes. But at least we are trying to be better. At least we are trying to let Jesus rule in our hearts. And that’s better than nothing.
So today, I encourage you to sing this line when someone makes you angry, sad, annoyed, or frustrated and know that Jesus is with you and that Jesus can transform our lives.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Lee