Why Lent?

Growing up, Lent was essentially a foreign concept to me. I don’t think I really knew what it was until high school, and even then, didn’t really pay much attention to it. In my mind, Lent was something for Catholics, not for me. As a nondenominational Christian, I didn’t need to submit myself to a tradition such as Lent.

Like anything, Lent can easily become another ritualistic “faith experience.” We can partake in it simply because we think we are supposed to, or because we need an excuse to give up junk food and go on a diet. Because of this easily construed mindset, I see many opting out of Lent all together, deeming it unnecessary and legalistic. There seems to be a lot of push back against such practices, and presented in the wrong light, I clearly understand how Lent falls into the “throw away” list of Christianity.

Until a few days ago, my heart was not properly positioned towards Lent. While I’ve recently come to love the church’s liturgical history, I was approaching Lent with an irreverent attitude. My decision to give up chocolate (a long-held addiction of mine) was more so due to the fact that I have a beach vacation coming up than it was to cultivate spiritual discipline. But this week, God, in His graciousness, opened my eyes to the ways of Lent.

For the Christian, Lent is a season of waiting, longing, and mourning. We mourn our sin, mourn the death Jesus died. Knowing He has been resurrected, we are waiting and longing for His return to make all things new again. It is a season for me to acknowledge my frailty and sin, while actively dying to my futile desires. When I am tempted to turn to the thing I have given up, it is a tangible reminder of how often I turn to something other than Jesus to make me whole. When I long for and crave the sacrificed item, I am pointed back to how I ought to be craving and longing for Jesus and His return.

Lent creates a prolonged time of waiting, something I am not familiar enough with in my personal life. While I physically long for what is to come when Lent is over and await the separation ending, I am reminded of the longing I have for Jesus to come again to this Earth. Lent emphasizes that the world is not yet how it should be. There is death, mourning, and brokenness in the world, in me. The darkness often feels overwhelming and never ending. Yet, just as Jesus rose from the grave to pave a way for life eternal, He will also come again to this Earth to make the broken things whole. We, as Christians living in this Lenten season of awaiting His return, can find hope in that promise. I hope you join me on the journey of re-acquainting yourself with longing and waiting over the next 40 days.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, as the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.”

-James 5:7-9 (ESV)