With about 2 more weeks of Lent to observe, I've been thinking a lot about the reasons why I'm doing it anyway. At first, Lent seemed like a great way to deprive myself of Facebook so I could get some work done. As the weeks went on though, I began thinking more and more about the real reason why I was doing this. First of all, Lent is a forty-day season of preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The season begins on Ash Wednesday, when pastors mark the foreheads of Christians with ashes as a reminder that we are created from dust and to dust we shall return. I didn't make it to our Ash
Wednesday service at church, but this is a brief explanation of why Ash Wednesday.
In an Ash Wednesday service, the congregation goes to the front to receive a mark of ashes in the shape of a cross on one’s forehead. These ashes come from the burned palms gathered from Palm Sunday of the previous year, symbolizing repentance as well as new life.
Lent is a time of stripping down to essentials, when Christian focus on their individual relationship with God. The biggest question for me at the beginning, was is Lent worth it? Yes! It is! As I thank my loving Jesus, I find ways to make Lent worthwhile, and in a way it becomes a "Spiritual Springtime". There are a lot of things, I realized, that we do in Springtime that imitate what we do in Lent. When I am distracted constantly by logging onto FB and filling my head with a constant stream of other people's thoughts, it is harder for me to find time to spend quiet time with my Father and meditate and pray. I think all comes down to intention. It’s not fasting for the sake of fasting not fasting, but “for the sake of becoming more intentional in terms of our life."
By losing facebook for the weeks before Easter, I am reminded every day (yes, urges to get the latest news do arise!) what Jesus had to give up for me to have life. It reminds me of what matters, down to the nitty gritty of life - forget about work, school, hobbies, events, relationships, people..Jesus died for my sins and conquered his own death..in the end, nothing else really matters than the love of God, our response to that, and His promise of Jesus' return. It reminds me to spend more minutes in my day with God instead of facebook creepin haha..
Tips for Lent:
-Worship Often: take advantage of these extra times of worship to gain more insight into god's love for us in Jesus Christ and grow in faith
-Read the Scriptures: read one of the Gospels that account of Jesus' life and death
-Remember the Hungry and Poor: Lent has been a time when Christians also remember the poor. Skip a meal, fast, or get rid of "stuff" around your house. Some people I know are finding ways to serve the poor during this time especially
-Fast: Fasting can help being us closer to our Lord. When we give up certain foods or activities during the season, we imitate in some small way His sacrifice for us. He gave up His life for our salvation. Can’t we at least give up Ben & Jerry's for a few weeks?
-Pray: for me, Lent has been strengthening my prayer life. I made a q-card of people and things I want to pray for everyday; it helps me remember specifics
No comments:
Post a Comment