Form a New Conscience That Connects

Some can remember this experience as a child. For others it will be somewhat unclean. Have you noticed how clean we try to make our world now? It has taken us years to learn that "cleanliness is next to godliness." No, that is not in the Bible. It actually is a quote from John Wesley in a sermon, On Visiting The Sick.
So as a child, your face was dirty. It could have been ketchup or mustard from the hamburger. Or it might have been the cheese from homemade Mac N Cheese (before the box version). You were in public and handi wipes did not exist. However, your mom's finger always exists. Without a thought, your mom, probably never your dad, wipes her finger on her tongue and cleans the smudge from your face. Now many moms today will never admit to this although I think more are actually guilty than those who confess.
What happens when the finger of someone who cares for you touches your face?
At the beginning of Lent, instead of being cleaned by the touch of God, we are marked. The black smudge stays with us. Some of your well-meaning friends who have no concept of religious practice probably pointed out that you had something on your forehead you might want to clean off. Some of them were even tempted to clean it for you. One year a lady followed me through the store to give me a handi wipe to clean my face. She obviously thought I needed care. She also probably wanted to straighten my collar. Poor man doesn't have his mother near!
The time before Easter is a time when we realized we are marked. We are in need. We need a Savior. This is so contrary to our culture. Everything we learn growing up teaches us to be independent. We earn a living. We earn our degrees. We earn everything. We are self-made. But the truth is—humanity can only go so far and then we need God—a Savior.
When Cain murders his brother Abel, God banishes Cain. However, Cain is marked before he is exiled. It is as if God wants to remind all of the world that Cain will meet. The marking says two things to the world—see what happens when jealousy reigns and yes, this is one is still mine.
Scriptures tell us that though our sins color us scarlet red God can make us white as snow. What good news! The cleaning process that God invites us to know is one of examining ourselves. It is learning of the "connected conscience" that our faith forms in us. This conscience invites us into relationship that is both vertical and horizontal. The touch of Jesus in our life makes us all the more clean inside and out.
May this time before Easter is the time when you invite the finger of God to touch your life! Maybe this time is the season when you will reach out to others in compassion with acts of mercy. This experience will change your life!
Pray for me as I pray for you.