Lent

By Fred Vilbig

In the past I’ve tried to write about the greatness of God. He created the Heavens, all the stars and stellar complexes. He created atoms, all subatomic particles, and the basic forces that appear to make up everything. And he arranged them all and continues to arrange them all into stunningly beautiful sunrises, sunsets, starlit nights, rainbows, flowers, children, and all of the other astonishingly beautiful things we encounter in our daily lives. And He created all of the angels, powers, dominions, principalities, and all of the other things that inhabit the Heavens. God is truly omnipotent.

We know that Jesus is the second Person of the Trinity Who is God because He told us He was. “The Father and I are one.” “Before Abraham was, I am.” As C. S. Lewis noted, Jesus was either a liar, insane, or God. Since He rose from the dead, He proved He was God.

And even though He was God, He emptied Himself of His Divinity and became man. He so emptied Himself of His Divinity that when He cast out demons, they only recognized Him as the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah: merely human; not divine. Why do I say that? If the demons had realized that they were in the presence of God, they wouldn’t have had to have been cast out. They would have fled before He arrived. For them, to be in the presence of God would have been unbearably painful. Even though He was God, Jesus so totally emptied Himself of His Divinity that not even the demons realized Who they were talking to.

At almost every sporting event, we see someone holding a sign that says, “John 3:16”: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” So many times we focus on the great love of God for us, which is true. But for a moment, I want to focus on the other aspect of what God did for us.

Our society wants us to think that everyone is okay; sin is a trifling matter. But how immense is the horror of sin that it was necessary for God to become man in order to overcome the effects of sin? And not only that, He died a painful and humiliating death to redeem us from our sins. The Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, the Word through Whom all things were made, emptied Himself of His Divinity, became man, and died on the Cross, all to overcome sin. I don’t think we appreciate the immensity of the tragedy of sin.

I think it is profitable for us to keep these things in mind, particularly as we enter into the season of Lent. God gave up his Divinity and eventually his life. What are we giving up for Lent? How do we plan to repent and turn away from sin? God did his part; now it’s our turn.

Happy Lent!