The Lenten Journey

Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday (2/22). These 40 days of preparation are designed to help Christ followers focus on the righteous work of Christ on our behalf and ultimately draw us closer to God.

Someone has said that Lent is like giving up chocolate in dessert, which leaves you with a desert. Lent is a meant to be a season in the desert much like our Lord's period of spiritual preparation of fasting and prayer, and testing when He faced Satan in the desert wilderness. The 40 days of Lent ( based on Christ's 40 days in the desert.

Lent has been observed by faithful Christians since the 3rd century. Ancient Christians wanted to prepare themselves for Holy Week in a way that would honor Christ's redemptive work that ultimately wrestled the destiny of the human soul from the clutches of Satan through His crucifixion and resurrection. Imagine how much more meaningful Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday become when we have practiced intentional spiritual preparation for 40 days!

It's more than a "Catholic" thing. It's more than a ritual. It's a season to take stock of our relationship with God in Christ. It's a season of repentance, reflection, confession, and renewal. It's more than giving up chocolate, or sweets. Although, self-denial is at the heart of Lent. Fasting is the tangible expression of self-denial. But it's not about what we give up. We give up to focus on God. We become empty so God can fill us. We take the focus off ourselves and put it on God. Every day during these 40 days we should lose a little more of ourselves and gain a little more of Christ. We decrease and He increases.

The ashes placed on the forehead during Ash Wednesday worship remind us that we came from dust and to dust we shall return. We are nothing but dust without God. When we recognize that we are nothing without God we are ready to begin the Lenten journey. And so it begins.