Lent Day 3: Living Icons

Catholic icon from Italy

The Psalms for today are 31 and 35, both of which are pleas for God to save the author from pursuing enemies.  In Psalm 31 God saves David not once, but twice. It could be that this is the same salvation, just doubled for emphasis, but we see it twice. In verses 1-2 he begs God to save him. In 3-8 it seems that God has answered his prayer and has delivered him. “…you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” The plea is repeated in 9-18, and salvation comes again in 19-24. Daily I am faced with Sin, my abiding enemy, but daily God promises rescue. “Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me.” How glad I am that the rescue isn’t dependent on my own strength!

In Deuteronomy 7 we eavesdrop on God’s exhortation to the Israelites. Their 40 years of desert-wandering are almost up; they wait at the edge of the Promised Land, poised to enter. But God wants to remind them of who they are and how they are called to live. Verses 6-11 remind them of how God chose them and rescued them, not because they were great, but because He first loved them. Flowing from this love then is the desire to live for Him. Verses 12-16 tell how to do this: Obey His commandments, the rules He laid out to their fathers. If they do that, they will be blessed beyond what they could ever imagine.

Titus 2 is a similar passage, with Paul teaching Titus how the Church is to behave. I wonder if the early church knew that it would be over two thousand years before Jesus returned. In this passage Paul says that we are to “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…” Think of that “waiting for our blessed hope.” Are our lives meant to be lived simply waiting? In some ways, yes. But our waiting lives are to be lived in such a way as to point people to Christ. I recently heard a pastor say that we were to be icons to point to Christ. The Catholic church uses icons, elaborate pictures and figures, to remind themselves of Christ. Such art was and is continually before their eyes so that they are constantly reminded of what Jesus did for us. That is what we are supposed to be, living icons that continually point to Jesus.

In John 1:35-42 we see Andrew and Simon Peter becoming Jesus’ disciples. Perhaps you all know about Andrew, who seemed to be constantly bringing people to Jesus (Peter, the boy with the loaves and fishes). He heard John say “Behold the Lamb of God!” about Jesus, then immediately went and found his brother Simon. “We have found the Messiah!” he says, and takes his brother to Jesus. His first reaction is to find someone whom he deeply cares for, and bring him to the long-awaited Messiah.

So what have we learned today? God loves us, fights for us, rescues us, which in turn prompts us to love Him and obey Him. Our lives then are to be lived in such a way so as to point others, including our closest friends and family, to this Rescuer, for whom we patiently wait.