For 30 years, Doreen Burley of Rawstenstall, England polished her strange and lovely ornament. She let her grandchildren play with it, always returning it to its prominent place on the mantel. In March of 1988 she learned something about her ornament: It was a live bomb!
The ornament seemed so harmless, but imagine the possible horrible consequences if it finally did what it was created to do.
Donald Marquis wrote a poem based on an imaginary conversation between a rat and a moth. The rat asked a hard question: “Why do moths fly into candles and other bright lights and risk getting themselves fried to death?”
The answer is very instructive: “We get bored with routine and crave beauty and excitement. Fire is beautiful. We know that if we get too close it will kill us. And what does that matter? It is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty, than to live a long time and be bored all the while.”
Surely this must be the same kind of irrational logic used by those who deliberately hurt themselves physically or emotionally just for a few minutes of excitement and pleasure.
Everybody does dumb things in life once in a while – dumb things that can be called sin. We give in to temptation. Hurtful words are said. Harmful deeds are done.
Some even justify the behavior, thinking, “Why not, as long as I don’t hurt anyone but myself?”
Why not? Because when we give in to sin, it breaks God’s heart. Our sins hurt God. Our sins hurt ourselves.
No one is perfect. No one is without sin. The sin in our lives keeps us from a deep, loving relationship with God. It keeps us from recognizing the deep meaning of the resurrection, that Jesus Christ willingly died for us on the cross.
We have entered the season of Lent, a season of reflection, repentance, and reconciliation. Reflection means taking a serious look at your life and discerning what you have done or are doing to displease God.
Repentance means admitting the wrongs we have done, asking forgiveness, and turning away from such behavior.
Reconciliation means reconnecting with God, and working to strengthen our relationships with him.
These are challenging things to do, but so worth it!
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Reflection, repentance, reconciliation are Lent challenges