Remembering what motivates us

We are now in the church season known as Lent, when we retrace the steps of Jesus on his way to the cross. This season is meaningful for all of us, but especially for people behind bars. We see Jesus arrested, put on trial, found guilty (even though he was far from it), condemned, and executed. During this process he is physically assaulted, disowned by friends, and forsaken by his heavenly Father. While it may be painful to revisit these events, it will do us all good. We’ll see many things. Here are a few (all passages New International Reader’s Version).

No matter how great or small our sin is in the world’s eyes, we ALL need Jesus: All of us are like sheep. We have wandered away from God. All of us have turned to our own way. And the Lord has placed on [Jesus] the sins of all of us. (Isaiah 53:6)

Jesus was our substitute. He paid for our sins: Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Here we see the height of God’s love: But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Eternal life is ours because of this love: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Christ’s love motivates our loving actions towards others: Love is fulfilled among us when in this world we are like Jesus…We love because he loved us first. (1 John 4:17b,19)

May this year’s Lent and Holy Week once again be a blessing to you in your daily walk with Jesus. May this journey to the cross also motivate you to serve or give to our ministry because of the impact we are making by the Spirit’s power in the hearts and lives of people Jesus died to save.

Dave Hochmuth, WELS Prison Ministry administrator