Lent: Day Twenty-three

Monday, Monday… So often on Monday mornings the beginning lines from The Mamas & The Papas song echoes in my mind.

Monday, Monday, so good to me
Monday mornin’, it was all I hoped it would be

That part of the song, at least, rings true for me, with a melody and pacing that sticks with you. Monday’s are indeed good. They are a chance to symbolically start over, a chance for a fresh approach to all that lies ahead and the hope of being freed from what we wish to leave behind. Mondays proffer a new beginning to our ongoing life.

During Lent, Mondays begin again our period of observance after Sunday’s respite. We have a chance to rededicate our efforts, learning from our past experience and like Paul

…reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14)

So join with me and think on what it is that God would have us do with this new week, this gift that he has given us, while we reflect on what we can learn from the week past. To paraphrase Socrates, the unexamined life is not worth living. Along that line the Apostle Paul further reminds us to

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. (2 Corinthians 13:5a)

We should all desire to be like the person Paul mentions in Romans 16:10a

Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ.

Tested and approved in Christ. What a wonderful state to be in. May that be said of you and me when the time comes, but until then, let us live an examined life to the glory of God.

Grace and peace to your week.