Our Generous God

If you have been to Forsyth Park on a Saturday morning in the last week or two, you may have been surprised to find a score or more of vendors selling the produce from their gardens. February—and even the first few weeks of March—are not the time when you tend to think of bountiful harvests. This wet and rainy season seems much better suited to finding a warm cozy spot inside to pour over the seed catalogs, make lists of crops you want to harvest, and sketch out plans for ways to fit everything in the space you have to garden.

Nevertheless, a stroll down the sidewalk at the south end of the park is a powerful reminder that, even in the middle of winter, the earth is producing a rich and varied harvest. While the palette is mostly green, there is such a diversity of shapes, sizes, and textures that it is nearly impossible to come away unimpressed.

The season of Lent is a time when Christians are encouraged to consider their practice of the traditional spiritual disciplines—prayer, the study of scripture, fasting, and works of service. It is also a time when the faithful are asked to reflect on the habits and inclinations that have led them away from God; and to admit that they need to turn away from those things in order to return to God. Psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually this can feel much like the wet, rainy days we have been living through—especially if you believe that God is holding out on you.

Let me remind you that God loves you. God is not holding out on you. God is ready to bless you and full your life with good things. God is always more ready to forgive than we are to repent. You don’t have to earn God’s approval; you have to accept the grace, mercy and love that God is waiting to give you.

God is more concerned with what you are going without, than with what you are giving up. Consider these words from the prophet Isaiah: “Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food” (55:2).

Here’s the good news for Lent: “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously” (Isaiah 55:6-7).