What are you doing for Lent?
So, today is Ash Wednesday, which signifies the start of the Lenten period for Catholic, and certain Protestant traditions. Now, I’m not going to talk about the history of Lent or anything like that, if you’re really curious, you can look that up on your own. What I would like to talk just a little about is the spirit of Lent, and what I plan to do this year.
To give you an idea of where I’m coming from, I have a non-denominational, protestant background. I did not grow up observing Lent, nor do I view it as something you HAVE to do as a Christian. With that said however, I do feel that it is a great opportunity to learn and grow in Christ. The purpose of Lent is to prepare us for the Holy Week, the week leading up to the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. When deciding what you want to “give up” (or alternatively, “do extra”) for Lent this year, try to keep that in mind. So, if you decide to give up Facebook, don’t just fill that void with IM and email, but fill it with Christ.
Personally, for Lent, I plan to doing a few things, first, I’m trying to get my regular Bible Study back on track, and I’m doing this with a group of people dedicated to do the same. Another thing I’m doing, is I plan on reading at least one reason per day from Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by John Piper. In doing this I hope to prepare myself for Holy Week by concentrating on the reasons for the cross.
If you decide that you want to observe Lent this year, I encourage that you truly make the most of it, and that you have a good reason for how you choose to observe it. If you keep your focus on the Cross and Resurrection, it will help keep you motivated and stay on track with your decision, and more importantly, it will help you grow closer to Christ by gaining deeper understanding of what He’s done for us.
Tags: disciplines
This is so beautifully said.
I love the idea that Lent is not just something you sacrifice [Give up] but also something you actively do to draw closer to Christ.
Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:9b-10 “…since you have taken off your old self with it’s practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge, in the image of it’s Creator.” He reminds us that it is a two part process.
Lent is about repentance and seeking to be made Holy, pure, set apart through realizing/incarnating the life we are called to live as followers of Christ. It is Christ Himself, that does that and the Holy Spirit living in us because He made it possible.
The act repentance is not just saying we are sorry. That’s confession to what we’ve done. Repentance is a military term used by the Roman army meaning to turn around and walk the other way. It is much more than just stopping a sinful action[s]. It is taking an action to move you closer to the Creator, Author and Perfecter of our faith!
May we all take this season on the Church calendar to deeply contemplate the tremendous gift that was given to us on the cross approximately 2 millennia ago, realize the implications it has for our lives, and then take off the old and put on the new creation God is making us into!