Lent We are in the Christian season of Lent. This is the 40 day period of time before Easter. It is historically a time to fast; to give things up. What should I give up for Lent? That’s the way we usually look at it: give something up, sacrifice, denial of self, hardship. And we tend to look at it as a hardship, or in the negative. Should we? I think (perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think so) the point of Lent is to draw nearer to God. Do not preface that sentence with anything. Drawing nearer to God is the point. The point of Lent, in my mind, is not to lose anything as much as it is to gain God. Even in writing this, it’s hard not to mitigate things with words that sound like we are still losing something. The point of Lent is not to lose anything! The point of Lent is to gain everything! There. That’s it. There IS nothing else. Compared to God, nothing, nothing at all, is a loss. Do we really feel like the things we give up balance in the scale? We give up chocolate, or sweets, or coffee, or TV…and somehow we feel this is a big thing? Compared to…to God? Okay, put them all in the scale…all the things we give up on one side, and God in the other…hmmm…I’m not sure it balances. I understand that sometimes, to get more, you have to clear some things off the plate…hey, the day is only so big right? But do we really think of that as a sacrifice? Sure in some ways they are…but I can’t help but put this all in different words. I am not giving anything up for Lent. I’m not sacrificing anything…nothing at all. Here’s why: because whatever I give, if I give it to gain more of the Lord…I haven’t given up a thing. Nothing at all. A while ago, I realized that I had never sacrificed anything for my wife and daughters over the years. Nothing at all. I had never made a single sacrifice for them. I had given a lot of things up…but not one of them was more important or valuable to me than they are. So…I realized I had never sacrificed anything for them, because nothing I gave up was more valuable than they. Karen and the girls were always my greatest treasure, and I merely kept what was most valuable. With God, I am sure it’s the same thing. I don’t really give anything up. He is so much more valuable than anything…so, I lose nothing, and gain all. I am not giving anything up for Lent. I’m gaining more, gaining God, which is really, by far, the best.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 07:31:49 +0000
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