Lenten Reflection - Day 4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2

Additional Reading: Matthew 6:16-34

Wasn’t it only yesterday we were making New Year's resolutions – you know, those promises that inevitably got broken or forgotten about. And now, neighbors and friends are asking, what are you giving up for Lent? Sometimes it feels like being a follower of Jesus is like watching life go by through the lens of the South Beach Diet – give this up, don't eat that, don't do this, do that! Honestly, I never really understood the whole point of Lent until a couple of years ago. I would do the drill: give up something because everybody else would be doing it. But I never lasted through the first weekend. I then spent the next 35 days mad at myself because I wasn't "disciplined" enough. By the time Easter rolled around, I was so down on myself that the Easter "celebration" didn't have much meaning at all for me.

So, here is another year of Lent and I really want to see if I can get down to the real deal of it. After doing some “research,”(!) I found a lot of stuff that seemed very “Levitical,” if you know what I mean – lots of details and restrictions. What you can and can't eat; when you can eat, for how long … I'm telling you, some of this stuff, if your not careful, could lead you to miss seeing the big picture.

Anyway, in the midst of all of this, I also came upon something quite different. The story of a guy in a church community for his first Lent season. He wrote about it in his journal:

I started thinking about the Ash Wednesday service that was held at my church tonight. I think about the hundreds of people who came out and fought the traffic on a Wednesday night to be part of a service that marked the beginning of the Lenten Season, which is the 40 days preceding Easter. I am reminded of the tears that were shed and the smiles given tonight that revealed a community in awe of what God is doing in their lives.

That is the bigger picture that we can often forget about while looking at details and regulations. I want to be a part of a community that doesn't ask me, "so buddy, what are you given up for Lent?" Rather, I want to be part of a community that continually points me to the God whose love knows no end, a God who reaches out to me in my brokenness through His Son, Jesus Christ. I want to be a part of a community that reminds me that Jesus did more than just die for our sins on the cross but went so far as to give us new life by being raised from the dead by God.

If it takes giving up something during this time to remind me of that, then I am all for it. I just need to watch out that I don't fast for the sake of fasting, but rather fast so that I can be reminded of the love that sustains us and is given to us so freely by the God in Heaven. I also want to be on guard against thinking I’ve taken some kind of great spiritual stride just in the act of fasting. No, I’m giving up what I’m giving up in order clear away clutter in my life and grow more dependent as a follower of Jesus. No one has to notice. No credit needs to be received.

Prayer: Father, help me remember the big picture. The picture of your love, expressed through the cross, resurrection, and ascension of your son, Jesus. I want to receive it, understand it, live in it more and more everyday. That is why I fast. Please take this act and use it to make me more receptive of you, more perceptive as I follow Jesus in this world. Amen.