Ash Wednesday

A blessed Ash Wednesday to you all. May the ashes imposed this day cause you to rejoice in the forgiveness and life of your Saviour Jesus Christ. If He and His gifts are not the focus of this day, then all is lost. Do you know when that really hit home for me? When my son, my firstborn, first came up one Ash Wednesday, and I had to grind those ashes into his forehead and speak those words to him: "You are dust, and to dust you will return." How could that not create a gut-kicking knot in the stomach of a father? Yet thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ! So even though I hate the ashes, they're good for me and point me to my Saviour. May they do so for you today as well.