Some take Lent as a time to beat themselves up for every sin they find. Perhaps they think that by being hard on themselves, God will be easier. Others take the course of long hours of prayer and self-examination. Some make sure to give up something dear to them, as a means of remembering where our true joy comes from. Ruth HaleyBarton describes this in her blog eReflections: "We allow some of the external trappings of our lives to be stripped away so that we can find our true identity and calling in God once again." (http://www.transformingcenter.org/2017/02/ash-wednesday-invitation-to-a-holy-lent/). So, should we pursue any of these practices? And what should we really be trying to accomplish?
Lent is, among other points, a journey of 40 days deeper into the heart of God. Now, there are favorite verses people quote, like Isaiah 1:16, which says "Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways" to show that we must make the first move before God will accept us. Yet Isaiah's words were directed to the nation of Israel, rebelling under the covenant of law and obedience they had with God.. Isaiah was telling them, within the covenant, to turn around and go a better way so the Lord would bless them. Our covenant with God is under Jesus, and that makes a night-and-day difference.
In our life with the Lord, we don't have to make the first step, or meet God halfway somewhere. The Lord has already met us where we are, in the person of Jesus, who not only shared our flesh with us, but conquered the flesh in himself, and died to pay for all our sins. Those are already gone, and do not stand between us and God. In the light of Christ (John 8:12) we can see clearly to understand our attitudes and our actions that offend God, and hurt ourselves and others. Only in comparison to the loving and gracious heart of God can we really understand what sin is! So it is important for us, during this time, to focus not just on our failings, but on God's heart, and see ourselves as being "in Christ."
To focus on God's heart, some good exercises during Lent would include to read, meditate over, and pray through some scripture passages about the unending devotion of God for his children. Examples are Psalm 23, Romans 8, 1 Cor. 15, Ephesians 1:1-14, Col. 1:1-22, and Revelation 21-22. Another exercise would be to focus on the creation. Stand or sit somewhere for half an hour or longer, and meditate on a wide view, like the mountains and weather, or on a small patch of ground or a tree, What prayers do you pray, and what thoughts about the Lord come to you during that time? You could write them down for later review and prayer.
During these times, how would the heart of God become greater in your thinking? How might you become more devoted to him -- and less devoted to the distractions in life? How would you be encouraged by spending that time alone with the Lord? It's worth several repetitions of the exercise to see how you are affected. And always, do so in the light of our acceptance by God through his Son, the one true Savior of all humanity, who has already loved us and given himself for us (Galatians 2:20). Will you join me in journeying further into the infinite love of God?
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