_edited.png){kind=small}
I remember, growing up Catholic, the beginning of Lent season. It started on Ash Wednesday, when my mom would take me to church after school to get ashes. (I always felt embarrassed with the smeared cross the priest would make out of the ashes on my far head, so I always went right home afterwards.
During lent, I was always encouraged to give something up—usually something I really liked, like candy or ice cream. This was a way of fasting something that I really liked, which showed me the importance of sacrificing, which was an important lesson. Other than that, while the act of practicing Lent was noble enough, it’s spiritual significance was somewhat vague to me, other than it was something we did 40 days before Easter.
When my wife and I began attending a Bible-preaching church, Lent became less of an event than I remembered growing up. Certainly, we stopped getting ashes. But even for non-Catholics, as I soon discovered, Lent can be a significant time in the life of a believer.
When properly followed, Lent can be an important time of self-reflection leading up to Easter, as it is a time for Christians to reflect on Jesus Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. During that time, we seek areas of our lives that we need to repent of—as we turn away from any nagging or habitual sin. We also seek to go deeper in our fellowship with the Lord through extended prayer and Scripture intake. One way to do that is to read the gospels, especially the portions of Christ’s Passion week.
We also should reflect and study in the Scriptures the significance of other 40-day periods of reflection and fasting. For example, Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13.) In those passages, especially from Matthew and Luke—see how Jesus fought off the temptations, and read the Scriptures that Jesus actually used.
It’s also insightful to read about Moses’ 40 days on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34, and Elijah’s 40-day journey to Mount Horeb in 1 Kings 19.
While it is always a proper time to be reflecting on our lives before God (read Psalm 139), Lent gives us a specific season to do just that!
While, most evangelicals do not get ashes smeared on their foreheads, godly sorrow for our sins is something we do in our hearts, which produces repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). Make that your aim this Lenten season!
Follow us on Instagram @huntington_church
Check Out our Youtube Sermons below
Comments