Thoughts on Lent.

So, today marks the start of Lent.
Apparently this year the cool thing to do is post about what you're giving up. And I hate to miss a trend.

On a more serious note, sometimes I think we can just do things out of routine without really understanding why. Which is why, this year, I've tried to grasp exactly what Lent represents. I have taken other people's views that I have read over the past couple of days, and mixed them with some of my own, and this the result!

Lent is the period of 40 days leading up to Easter where traditionally people gave up eating rich foods. Which is why you use all those naughty ingredients up on shrove Tuesday for pancakes, if you didn't know! The period of Lent is a time of reflection and repentance, in light of Jesus taking all of our sin to the cross with Him. I used to think giving something up for Lent was just mimicking Jesus' 40 days of fasting and temptation in the desert. But it is so much more than that.

Matthew 4:1-11 tells this story. Jesus is stuck in the desert, for 40 days, with nothing to eat. He is tempted by the devil, and resists, relying on God's word to guide him. This is important. In giving something up, we should be turning to God and learning to lean on him instead of whatever it is we've given up in the first place. In life, there will be times when we are tempted, and maybe when we break, but this is when God is there most. Lent is a time of learning to put God in front of everything, so that when things go bottoms-up, he is immediately there with his love, ready to forgive and put us back on our feet.

40 is a pretty important number in the bible. In the Old Testament, the Israelites spent 40 years wandering around in the desert disobeying God before they eventually entered into the promised land. Like this, it is important that we look toward what Lent leads into. At the end of this 40 day period is a gift so amazingly huge that I just can't get my head around it. It's OUR promised land, OUR inheritance. God sent his son Jesus as a living sacrifice, the final sacrifice, to take our sins and wash us clean and make it so that we can be completely and utterly FREE to just be with God. I just can't put into words how astounding this is to me, and how much joy it brings, so I'm not going to attempt to here. Maybe next month.

 So, in answer to the question "what should I give up for Lent this year?", I say nothing. And everything.

We don't have to give something up to impress God ("Oh, look, Sadie hasn't eaten any chocolate for 40 days, gold star to her"). The fact is, nothing we can give him is enough. And, the fantastic part is, we don't need to. Jesus has seen to it already, we can live in freedom and joy without religion and rules. Let's face it, me giving up facebook for 6 weeks is hardly on a par with Jesus giving his life, is it?

In response to this, I have coming the conclusion that Lent isn't about giving one or two material things up. It's about sacrificing everything. Giving up your entire life to the God of the Universe.

This is a taller order than I can get my head around, and I really don't think I can do it all at once. So, whilst I attempt to get there, I'm going to start small. I'm going to spend Lent focusing on showing Jesus' love and kindness through my actions. At times, I expect this to challenge me, and it may take courage, but I'm going to learn to lean on God for this.

Lent is a very personal thing. Maybe, for you, it does involve giving something up that takes too much precedence in your life, to make more space for God. Maybe it means taking something up instead. Whatever the case, just make sure God is in it!