Ash Wednesday 2019 — Set Your Heart On What Is In Heaven

Set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. — COLOSSIANS 3:1-2

Yes, the Lenten season is upon us, and our commitment is not like New Year’s resolutions or pie crusts — easily made and easily broken. Every day we commit part of our day to service, sacrifice, and prayer/meditation. We turn from the demands of the world for a period of time and give thought and energy to our relationship with God.

I am not a big fan of the ritual of ashes. I know this is heresy, but it gives me the willies when the priest reminds me I came from dust and will return one day. But the ritual does one thing. It reminds me of the seriousness of my Lenten commitment. My decisions about sacrifice, service, and communication with God are not to be taken lightly.

It helps me stay on track to imagine God and Jesus sitting in heaven saying to each other, “Let’s check on Webb today. I wonder if he’s fallen off the wagon yet. Then they pull me up on their big screen TV, and there is my hand sneaking into the cookie jar or reaching for the remote.

Today is the beginning of a journey where the reward and the destination are unknown. But we do know one thing. It begins when you — “Set your heart on what is in heaven.”

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.