The countdown begins

Tonight I experienced my first Ash Wednesday service. Before tonight, the only things I really knew about Ash Wednesday were that it was typically a Catholic tradition, it followed Fat Tuesday, and it was the title of a sub-par movie starring Edward Burns. Not a ringing endorsement.

But tonight was different. Ash Wednesday is really about an outward expression of the inward power of Christ in our lives. It's a way to honor his sacrifice and to really begin to think about that and put our focus on where it should be during the Easter season — Jesus' death and resurrection.

I don't know what the greatest gift you've ever received is. For some it might be a car, for some it might be something larger or smaller. But no matter how great that gift was, it pales in comparison to Christ's love for us.

In Romans 5:8, the Apostle Paul says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." That's what I was thinking about tonight and that's what I was thinking about when I got my first ever cross of ashes. I hope everyone will take some time over these next 40 days to think about that sacrifice and what it's meant to all our lives.

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