Daily Reading
Daily Reflection
The irony would not have been lost on the first-century readers of this passage: God's story began in a garden, and now it seems to have ended in a garden. John notes twice that the location of the tomb of Jesus was in a garden. Details like this provide important clues to John's intentions. In fact, the big dreams of God in the first garden seemed to have died after Adam and Eve's fall, and now God's dreams seem to be dead again. But are they? A couple I knew once said, "Our marriage needed to die before it could really live and thrive." Author Larry Crabb writes, "Through the pain of our shattered (smaller) dreams, we wake to the realization that we want an encounter with God more than the blessings of life." In other words, God re-defines our understanding of blessing – a nice car, a seemingly happy marriage, a good income. In the tomb, our smaller dreams appear dead. But, just wait...God may just be tilling up the garden in order to plant something far more beautiful. The dawn of Easter Sunday is about to break through!
Daily Worship Resources
Morning Readings: Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16 > | Job 14:1-14 >
Evening Readings: 1 Peter 4:1-8 > | Matthew 27:57-66 >
Other Resources
Read Introduction to the Lent Tradition >
Download pdf of entire Lent devotion >