Originally published Wednesday, 01 March 2017.
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness, and He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Today is the first day of Lent, which represents the forty days Jesus fasted, prayed, and was tempted before beginning His ministry. As a younger woman I didn’t observe lent. I’m not catholic, and so I lumped Catholicism and lent together as if it had nothing to do with me. I was wrong.
Over the years while studying the word, I learned that the season of Lent, in my life specifically, reflects a refocusing of what Jesus endured for me. Think about it like this: Everything Jesus did, He did for the salvation of mankind. That means the time He spent enduring temptation in the wilderness was for us. It was a stripping away of distractions before enduring a three year long ministry that would eventually lead Him to the cross, and those who chose to believe Him to repentance and salvation.
Throughout this season of Lent I’ve chosen to give some things up, and even add certain disciplines in to my day-to-day life. I want to be cognizant of what the cross means in a way I’ve never been before. I want these 40 days to draw me toward the Lord in newness.
I don’t know about you, but I often need refocusing. I have to purge distractions and force awareness of what is important. Life gets crazy. All of us have family responsibilities, work duties, and everyday life tasks that make the cross more distant than it should be. Putting the cross back into our line of vision grounds us in His love. It’s not that those of us who serve Christ allow a gap between us and the cross on purpose, but life and all its obligations sometimes adds a haze to what happened on Calvary. We become so wrapped up in the right now, that we need reminded of what made us whole and able to breathe the air of freedom in the first place.
Maybe you do a better job than I do at staying focused on spiritual disciplines. Maybe you don’t allow the constant struggle of real life to get in your way. But, maybe you identify with me and need a time to reawaken your senses by placing the cross front and center in your line of vision. If so, my prayer is that you will take the Lenten season as a time of redirection, making a choice to spend more time remembering what He did, who He is, and what He means to your life.
For me, the point isn’t really about what exactly I give up or what I choose to do differently. It’s about forcing myself to make new habits that remind me of the true gospel story which brings forth the revelation of Christ in my life.
Throughout this season of Lent, may the revelation of who He is and what He’s done come alive to you all over again.
Love,
Image courtesy: Unsplash.com
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