"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for Your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church." Colossians 1:24
lent. the days between fat tuesday and easter.
a time to remember Jesus' great sacrifice(his life lived in earth..and his death) and suffering(the pain of crucifixion...and the weight of all sin). a sacrifice that is made worthless unless we live in light of it, accept his payment for our lives....and tell the world about it. honestly..it shouldn't take a certain season and observance to remind me of how much he gave...but i'm human..i need big reminders.
i usualy start thinking about this like..two days AFTER the fact...so i'm going to jump start it..and figure out my plan today.
i wont give up something that is BAD for me. thats not sacrifice....just an excuse to do what i should already do.
i should give up a thing i enjoy..and usualy consume or do frequently....otherwise its not hard to give it up. its not a sacrifice. this needs to take effort.
a certain food: bell peppers, salad dressing, cheese, turkey sandwiches, chocolate, coffee, tea, caffeine in general...
or an activity: wearing contacts, watching tv, knitting, listening to music in the car... (THAT would be sacrifice!)
or maybe stop NOT doing something? no. that gets me into the list of bad habits which just are not what lent is about...its realy hard to think of things that i WOULD give up...that are not things i SHOULD have already quit...like "i'll give up eating bread" or "i'll give up not excercising" or "i'll give up staying up too late at night" "i'll give up picking at my face"...these are not lenten vows..these are just good ideas for every day life...these are not sacrifices which would remind me of what he gave for me.
"Let us fix out eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" Hebrews 12:2
it should be something which...after the lenten season is over, when Easter comes..i can enjoy that sacrificed thing again...and remember the absolute smallness of that joy compared with the joy of Jesus' reunion with His Father in heaven..and the comming reunion of all believers with the Father, too.
what's your stance on this season of lent?
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4 comments:
I took a different approach to the Lenten sacrifice/fast this year. After a lot of thought, I've decided to give up baths (note, I did not say bathing!). Since I have an ultra-amazing whirlpool bathtub right now, I've been taking baths almost every other day. So I'm giving that up and spending time researching places where clean water is an issue.
We're often encouraged to "take on" something that is positive for our spiritual lives - reading through the Gospels (which I always mean to do) or spending more time in prayer, or actively serving somewhere. I think that's a lot more do-able and positive than giving up chocolate or alcohol or some such thing that isn't so great in the first place. :) Hard to believe it's already time for Ash Wednesday.
Wow Fer, I'm glad you live all the way over there now! Oh wait, you said NOT bathing. :D
der, thanks Nicktypus ;0)
And I realized I forgot to post my stance: I'm against it! Uh. . .
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