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Welcome to The Lent Encounter 2023! We’re thrilled that you are joining us on this journey through the Lenten season to the joy of the resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
For many of us, Lent is a time to pause and take stock of our lives. It can be a useful time to evaluate the state of our relationship to God and to other people. It is also a time for sharpening our focus and recommitting ourselves to what is truly important. This year, though, Lent may appear overcast as it arrives into a year of uncertainty and difficulty for many.
This week, Nigel Langford, the Director of Domestic Mission at Bible Society, and his team will lead us through a series of reflections on what it means to stand in the reality of a troubled climate in our world today. This is the starting point for our journey towards Easter.
Read today's devotional. Or click the play button to listen.
Rising temperatures, droughts, floods, melting ice caps, wildfires and soaring emissions. Right now, our society is sounding the alarm about the climate, urging us all to take action before it’s too late. It’s one of an increasing set of crises we’re aware of today. It’s natural to feel anxious and to wonder, ‘How can God make this right?’
In Romans 8.18–25 we see Paul acknowledging the suffering people were experiencing at that time and widening that focus out to the whole of creation. He describes it as being ‘subjected to frustration’ (verse 19). But, instead of helplessness he brings an eternal perspective and states his confidence in God and the gospel. ‘Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God’ (verse 21). His message is just as true and relevant today. In comparison to the hope that is to come, our suffering now is not worth any comparison.
If you’re thinking that this seems like ‘cold comfort’, Paul addresses that too. He talks about hope and waiting. Just as creation waits in ‘eager expectation’ for the restoration and redemption of all things, so should we. And, ‘Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently,’ Paul reasons (verses 24–25).
As we walk in this hope, let it inspire us to be good stewards, faithful to the task of creation care. We are waiting, but it does not take away our responsibility in the meantime. Let’s be prayerful, responsible, active, hopeful and present in the world that God has made for us.
This reflection was written by Nigel Langford, Director of Domestic Mission at Bible Society.
If you have two minutes: Listen to the audio reflection and ponder how it might be relevant in your life.
If you have up to ten minutes: Read the Bible passage and listen to the audio reflection; you might want to keep a small journal, or note on your phone, to jot down words and phrases that jump out at you. Finish with a brief prayer to put what you have read and heard into practice.
What if I miss a day(s)?: Don’t worry, life happens! Just pick up the devotional again on the current day, and, if you wish, you can use the space for reflection on Sundays to listen to those reflections you may have missed.
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