What Is…

by Marvin Bublitz

We are heading into another Lenten season of the Church Year. Every time I hear Pilate ask Jesus, “What is truth?” the irony strikes me: here is Jesus, standing right in front of him. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Jesus could have simply pointed to Himself. But, sadly, so often sinful mankind pays no attention to what is right in front of us—and often, what God says clearly, man ignores, contradicts, or changes.

Lent gives us a time to reflect on that. Like Pilate, we stand before the Lord of heaven and earth. What will we ask? What truth will we seek? What life will we cherish? What message will we hear? What will we see in the One whose kingdom is not of this world?

During Lent, we return to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We return to Him who bore our sin and punishment. We return to the foot of the cross. Instead of standing before the King, we kneel in humility. We kneel in repentance, seeking His forgiveness. We kneel weighed down by our sin and the punishment we deserve. When we consider our sin and His holiness, we see no way out. But the Way shows us that He is the way out. He speaks truth to us. We are poor miserable sinners. We deserve death in hell. But the Truth gives us the way through Him to eternal life.

What is the way? Jesus of Calvary. What is truth? Jesus of Calvary. What is life? Jesus of Calvary.

What is the way? Jesus of Calvary. What is truth? Jesus of Calvary. What is life? Jesus of Calvary.

This month, beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 26, the Christian Church begins the journey to the cross, the crucifixion, and the empty tomb. The world, however, sees something different in February. They see Valentine’s Day. The world sees February 14 and asks, “What is love?”

What is love?

The world answers that question much differently than we do. The world sees love as getting what you want. To most people, what matters is what you want from love and how you define love.

But what is love, really?

Simply look at Jesus. He shows us what true love is: sacrificing for others and following the will of the Father. In love, the Son of God left His throne in heaven. He humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. He set His face like flint and headed to the cross—to His death—for us. In love, He bore our sins to purify us and make us fit for heaven. In love, He proclaims the truth of God’s Word to us. In love, He washes us in Baptism. In love, He feeds us His very body and blood. In love, He forgives us.

In love, He bore our sins to purify us and make us fit for heaven. In love, He proclaims the truth of God’s Word to us. In love, He washes us in Baptism. In love, He feeds us His very body and blood. In love, He forgives us.

This is the love the world does not know; this is the Way, the Truth, and the Life they need to hear about.

He who forgives and saves us is not silent to the world. He loves all He has created and desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As we journey this Lenten season, the Love of God surrounds and guides us. He empowers and equips us to tell everyone what He has done through the cross and empty tomb.

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