Last Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent, a forty-day period in the church calendar known as a time of preparation leading up to Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday.
Some members of my family are participating in this observance which prompted much discussion in our home, especially with my teenage daughter who is joining in for the first time by deciding to give up her favorite meal: In-n-Out Burger (which means that if we dine together, we’ll have to deny ourselves of this, too!)
But before making this decision, Jess wanted to have a better understanding of Lent and so upon hearing John Stonestreet’s BreakPoint commentary on this topic, I was able to help her see that it’s more than remembering “you are dust and to dust you will return.” It’s about sharing in the suffering and the resurrection of Jesus.
As John shares . . .
The imposition of the ashes, along with the various exercises in self-denial associated with Lent, can give the forty days prior to Good Friday and Easter Sunday a somewhat gloomy tone.
But that would be missing the point. During Lent, we confront our mortality not only to be reminded of it, but also in order to better understand why we need not fear it.
And that’s why Lent, including its reminder of our mortality, is the farthest thing from gloomy. Yes, like the “founder and perfecter of our faith,” we will taste death. But by God’s grace, death’s power over us, in this life as well as the next, is destroyed. And that’s great news.
Whether or not you typically participate in Lenten activities—like the imposition of ashes, fasting, or giving up something—I hope you’ll still use these forty days to face and ponder your mortality, with an eye to Jesus’ resurrection, and the resurrection that awaits all of us who belong to Him.
I’m grateful for John and his perspective which then helps me as a mom who hopes to point her kids closer to Christ. And, I thank you for sharing BreakPoint’s programs and resources with your listeners!
