Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is the forty days leading up to Easter Sunday (not counting Sundays). Lent is an ancient church tradition that is one of my personal favorite Christian seasons. In the Advent and Christmas seasons there is the manger, but there are other important characters as well: Mary, Joseph, Angels, and Shepherds to name a few. Then there are the characters that have red suits and red noses. This doesn’t even mention the commercialism. Lent, on the other hand, has a central focus – Jesus’ sacrifice for the world. This year for Lent we will focus even narrower on the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life and how those events changed the world.
A Traditional practice during the season of Lent is to give up something to better connect with Christ’s sacrifice. Some people give up chocolate, potato chips, coffee or some other delicacy to help them in this endeavor during Lent. Other ideas are to turn off the television, fast a meal a week, give money to charity, give up gossiping, texting, Facebook, fast food, ESPN, American Idol, game systems, whining…
Chances are good that if you’ve tried such practices in the past, you may have also tried and failed. Here I think we should take a hint from what is already working around us. Buddy Checks and AA are powerful models of accountability. So I say, call a buddy or two. Let a few friends know of your plans, not for self glorification, but for accountability. Let them aid you not just in persevering in your practice, but also to see beyond your practice because the point isn’t just to persevere, but to focus on the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for the world.
Pick a practice that will help you focus on Jesus’ sacrifice and how that has changed the world. Call a buddy. Follow Christ. Impact the world.
Check the blog each day for a daily devotional during Lent.
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