Lent is a great season for testing the will. It is a great time to introduce disciplines into your daily practice, as well as abstain from actions and indulgences that (without our permission) take over our will. Connect the discipline and abstaining to your relationship with Christ and you are in for an amazing ride. The kind of stuff that brings new meaning to working out your salvation with fear and trembling!
Some Christ-followers observe Lent on a religious level only. Their faste or practices fit neatly into their lives. They end up being the same people at Easter that they were on Fat Tuesday.
Some do not engage Lent at all, as an expression of freedom from the rules of religion. That's fine. But let's remember that following Jesus does mean doing (and not doing) somethings eventually. So if the escape from Lent is an excuse so that our lifestyles do not have to be transformed daily into the image of Christ, you're headed for immature Christianity that will sink when He leads you to deeper waters.
But some do not engage Lent because they are lazy. (I know, how insensitive of me to say) They want to change, but do not want the discipline. They want to do great things for God, but pull away from making hard choices. I can say this because at my core, spiritually speaking, I am lazy.
Lent forces me to get out of the apartment and into the gym. And without it, I'll reason with myself why it is okay for me to remain lethargic. In a few years, I will be spiritually flabby. And in a decade, I'll experience spiritual death because I never got off the couch...hoping that God would've done it all for me as I sat and watched others follow God's call for their lives. Lent reminds me that laziness is not a fruit of the Spirit and will eventually lead to death.
So don't observe Lent. Or observe it at the bare minimum so that you can check it off the religious list. But this is a race we're running. You're in danger of being left in the dust with spiritual shin splints and shortness of breath (Spirit).
Great post, definitely relatable. Laziness seems to take hold in my life when it comes to prioritizing, often allowing time with God to slip through the cracks of my hustle and bustle life. I could absolutely schedule God in, however, laziness, not busy-ness, prevents me from doing so. I think we easily get caught up in that delusion; that being too busy is an excuse to ignore God.
Posted by: Cody | March 22, 2011 at 06:26 AM
Hey Cody,
Personally, it is the busy seasons that keep me on my knees and connected to my Creator the most. I think it is part of my wiring and personality. And yes, I do need (and take) times of solitude, rest and sabbath as it is essential. But meeting God in the middle of the storm is just as important as meeting Him in the middle of desert. Lent is so helpful for people like me as it helps me identify both my lazy spirituality as well as my the places I work in my own strength. Thanks for commenting.
D
Posted by: DS3 | March 22, 2011 at 01:52 PM
I actually find this post a bit confusing. The only time I've ever observed Lent was when I lived in the Amsterdam OZ100 community, where it is a part of the religious calendar they observe. But I grew up in traditions that don't observe this part of the religious calendar so I've never observed it on my own.
After all, that's what it is, a tradition. You won't find Lent in the New Testament. Of course I understand the purposes behind it and I think they are very good, but Christians are exhorted in the NT to give things up to follow Jesus all the time. It's there in just about every book. Paul didn't tell us to 'run the race' for four weeks in spring.
The point is that I think that observing Lent is great, but the statement that if you don't observe it you're going to be 'left in the dust' is a little strong. Do we need to be willing to sacrifice for Christ? Absolutely. Do we need to observe Lent to do it? No.
But perhaps I misunderstand what you're trying to say Derrick.
Posted by: Tom B | March 23, 2011 at 06:10 AM
Hey Tom,
I appreciate your comment. (And sorry for the delay in publishing it...somehow typepad did not notify me this time that it was here.) you are correct...the need to follow Jesus and all the disciplines that come with that is not an exclusively 40-day thing. I would argue though, that universally, we human beings do a lot better with established seasons of discipline. I do not observe Lent because it is biblical, I observe it because it is helpful to spiritual formation. (Even though there are several examples in the scriptures of 40 day observances...Moses, Elijah, and Jesus to be sure).
I do take issue with observance for the sake of observance. (You know I love OZ100). And on this point, I think you and I are in agreement.
Finally, a little strong? Maybe. So let me pose this question for you. How do you engage the discipline of sacrifice and abstinence, given the biblical examples and possibly the tradition? How does this work in your life and spiritual growth as a Christ-follower?
Thanks Tom...really appreciate your point of view.
Posted by: DS3 | March 25, 2011 at 08:54 AM