“Lent — isn’t that where you have to give up something?” asked the barista at Starbucks the other day. Yes, giving up chocolate or something else pleasurable is part of Lent, but not the purpose, or even the main feature.
"Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, reminds us that, left to ourselves as sinful mortals, we are but “dust and ashes” —destined for death. With this reality in mind, we approach the coming Easter celebration of our new life in Christ by humbling ourselves before God, our Redeemer.” —Ted Johnston, on the Surprising God blog, at http://thesurprisinggodblog.gci.org/2018/11/inhabiting-christian-year-lent.html.
The continuing reminder of the Holy Spirit to us during these 40 days — which parallel, in a sense, the time Jesus spent in the wilderness before beginning his ministry — is that we are not independent, self-existing beings, but rely completely on a holy, loving and all-powerful God for everything. Humbling ourselves is, for Jesus-followers, a daily exercise, not just a few days a year. Death and dying, visible all around us, give us the chance to stop and remember just how fragile we are, but that God has rescued us; "Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day” (2 Cor. 4:16). The too-frequent ways we offend others — or are offended by them, often for our own selfish reasons — remind us that our fleshly selves don’t (and can’t) operate from other-love, but from self-centered and hurtful motivations that suck life from others. Only as we are made new in union with Christ, as we are led by the Spirit, who gives us the mind and love of an all-loving God, can we start living in a life-giving way.
Yes, giving up something is a good practice for Lent. How about giving up self-seeking words and actions, to become humble before God and others? How about we vow to “Live Life-Giving” by surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ as he lives in us?
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