Lament

Luke 23:28-31

thinking

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But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Luke 23:28–31, ESV

Everyone who had a hand in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ felt justified in what they were doing. The religious leaders felt they were protecting the faith from a dangerous foe. The governmental officials were justified because they were only doing their job and following the will of the people. The soldiers were only following orders. We can go down the line. This is no different today, and the pattern is found throughout history. People do evil for a plethora of reasons, and rarely do they believe what they are doing is evil. We can look back and see the evil, but at the moment, most find justification for the evil they do. The spirit of the age can be a dangerous tool that the foe uses to trap us and bind us. We can easily become caught up in the groupthink surrounding us or stay silent even though we know it is wrong because we don’t want to get into the middle of it all. All of it is truly evil; this was what Jesus spoke of when He spoke these words. The more we remain silent when the world is rebelling against God, the greater the toll it leaves on our souls. Be wary of those who like to stir up strife and conflict. Be watchful of those that speak peace but create war. We are called to lament the things of this world that lead so many astray while we stand firm in the truth that we know. Jesus took the cross for us. On it, he took our guilty stain. In it, we received the newness of life.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.