Lenten Detox, Part 6: Grateful and Joyful

Today is Good Friday. Has my mental detox been successful? Well, I know for sure that shining the light of the Word up there in my head has illuminated a lot of junk.

I’m reminded of a Bible study I attended years ago with a fun-loving group of ladies in various stages of life. We were tackling a  booklet on the Ten Commandments, and it was taking us many moons. (That never happens with a women’s Bible study, right?)

The booklet detailed the many, many ways we break each commandment. After months of study we were still only halfway. Then in the middle of a lesson, without warning, a busy, energetic mom in the group threw up her hands and exclaimed, “I just can’t take this Bible study anymore!! All these ways that I sin that I never even thought of before! Man, I leave this study so depressed!” The sudden outburst made everyone laugh, including her.

Then an older woman in the group said quietly, “I’m sorry you leave feeling depressed. It is sad to see the reality of our sinful nature. But then I feel that much more grateful for my Savior. He’s already paid for all these sins that I don’t think about much, and those that I don’t even realize I’ve committed. He has taken care of every last one. I hope you can leave feeling joyful, too.”

The light of the Word has shown me many ways that I still sin, ways often hidden from the rest of the world, but not to God. It’s a painful reminder, a necessary reminder, of a sinful nature that won’t be done away with completely until I reach Heaven.

But I’m not depressed. The ultimate happy ending to my story doesn’t depend on me keeping a “clean mind,” free of wrong thoughts and attitudes. On the first Good Friday, Jesus died to earn forgiveness for me. He died for all these sins of the mind revealed again over the last six weeks, and for every other sin in my life. I am growing in my gratefulness to Him. So I leave the season of Lent feeling joyful. May you leave it feeling joyful, too.