The Power of One

One of the courses I took in my high school days at the suggestion of my mother as an elective was typing.  I was not a good typist despite the best efforts of Karen Brown, our teacher.  To be completely honest, my grade in typing was a “C”.  It was one of my lower grades in high school.  Though I was not a good typist, it was one of the most useful classes I took in high school with the advent of the personal computer.  I spend time daily at a keyboard (though not at a typewriter anymore).   Though I am a better typist than I was in my high school days, my fingers still  do not always type what I want to say.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, I am certain that you have seen some typing or spelling errors at times. 

I was looking over one of my sermons recently and I noticed a major typing error.   I had wanted to type the word “immortality” but mistakenly left out one letter:  the letter “t”.   So, instead of typing the word “immortality” I had typed the word “immorality”.     There certainly is a lot of difference between the word “immortality” and “immorality” isn’t it?  One letter in a word can make a lot of difference, can’t it?   The addition or the omission of one letter can give a word a totally different meaning, can’t it?    For example, most of us will say we “ate” lunch today.  However, add the letter “h” and it changes the entire word to the phrase “hate”.    If you say you “ate lunch today”  it means something totally different than saying you “hate lunch today.”  Oh, the power of just one letter.

During these days of Lent, we encounter the power of one in other ways.  Lent is a time that causes us to pause and look at our actions past and present.  Consider one thing you have done or not done. For example, one mistake can severely damage a relationship.  One act of unfaithfulness in a marriage can harm if not destroy the health of a marriage.   One outburst in anger to a friend or family member can leave wounds that last for years to come. 

At the same time during Lent as we look at ourselves in all our glory and in all our goofy attempts to love God and neighbor, we also look at the One who takes the sins of the world away, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Through his death for sins that One did not commit, there is grace and forgiveness for all who come to him with penitent hearts.  Oh, the power of One named Christ Jesus  to forgive us and restore us.  Have a joy-filled week.  --  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, forgive us for the many times along the path of our life where we have failed to reflect your love.  Offer us anew, O God, your grace that frees us and forgives us through the One that takes away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.