Lent

Lent. For many people, the thoughts and imagery that are provoked upon hearing that word are a bit confusing. Somehow lent is tied with Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, typically holidays characterized by all sorts of drunken debauchery. And beads which produce....um....a different sort of imagery all together. For some people, it's a ritualistic ceremony that concludes with a spot of ashes on their forehead. For many people, lent is characterized by sacrificing something that you enjoy. For some it's meat, for others its some other earthly pleasure like chocolate or alcohol. And then there's the people that use Lent as sort of another shot at their failed New Years Resolution. "Well I never did lose any weight from my News Years resolution so maybe if I give up sugar and carbs for lent, I can do it." No offense, but it won't work. None of it will work unless you understand the point of it all. 

Lent is a season of preparing one's heart for the remembrance of the most significant moment in history. Bold statement, right? Well, let me explain that part and maybe it'll help us get our heads around the purpose of lent. 

A little over 2000 years ago, a man walked the earth and changed the history of it. Even if you don't believe in the divinity of Jesus, you would at least have to agree that something about him changed the course of history. His followers today outnumber the followers of any other religion in history. That in and of itself is pretty significant. How does one man get such an incredible following before the days of the printing press, reporters, or even social media??

Some would say it was his message. I'm a big fan of his message. In fact, I try to align all the decisions of my life, whether big or small, around my own interpretation of his message. But was his message enough to gain such incredible popularity? Not really. No offense to my main man Jesus but his message wasn't tremendously inspiring for most. He taught people to love their neighbor and even to love their enemy. He taught people to take their focus and priority off of the accumulation of wealth and instead take care of the widows, the orphans, and the poor. He taught people to be willing to give up your life for a friend, to turn the other cheek when someone insults you, and to pray for those that persecute you. He made crazy claims that he was equal to God and that he in fact WAS God. And this not-so-revolutionary, borderline neurotic message was only preached over a 3 year timespan, in a very small geographical area in modern-day Israel. 

Maybe it was his followers. Surely they had a lot of influence in the area, right? Actually, he had sort of a rag tag team of misfits. Of the 12 guys that he chose to be his followers, some of the most notables were fishermen, and a tax collector (who in that day had the stigma of a used car salesman, a shady TV lawyer, and a corrupt politician all rolled into one). His guys doubted him, questioned him, rarely understood what he was trying to explain, and one even sold him out to the people that arrested and killed him. In fact, during his trial and crucifixion, many of his followers were nowhere to be found! The few that hung around to find out his fate hid among the crowds and even denied knowing him. Some followers, right?

He was hated by the people in power. He was shunned by his own neighbors. He was brought to trial by the leading religious men of his day. He was mocked, spit on, hit by stones, beaten by whips, stripped naked in front of everyone he knew, humiliated for his beliefs and his claims. He was killed in the most public, degrading, and humiliating way possible. 

My question is if this is how the story had ended, why on earth would we still be talking about it 2000 years later?? Why would people all over the world revere his name. Or use it as a curse word. (Ever wonder who no other religious figure is used as a curse word??) Why did his simple message of love, shared in detail only with 12 misfits over the course of 3 years in the middle of the desert ever make it out of the first century??

This my friends is why we celebrate lent. On Good Friday, Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter's son from a podunk town, was killed on a sinner's cross. He was killed because he claimed to be God. And if the story ended on Good Friday, we would have never heard the name Jesus. But then came Easter Sunday.  The most significant moment in history. One man defeated death. And hundreds of people witnessed a resurrected Jesus. The fear of death lost its hold on mankind. This is why we still talk about Jesus 2000 years later. If it were not for the resurrection, if it were not for Easter Sunday, there would be no story worthy of a 2000+ year following. 

Lent is a season in which we prepare our hearts for the beautiful reality of Easter. If you choose to give something up for lent, don't do it out of obligation or to simply go through the motions. Do it as a way to prepare your heart for the true meaning of sacrifice. Do it as a way to remind yourself, through daily sacrifice, of the gift that was offered through the cross. Do it with a joyful and gratuitous heart, or not at all. Jesus does not ask for your "gift" of a Lenten sacrifice. He simply asks for your heart. 

As we approach this Easter season, think about all of this. Search deep in your heart to find out what you believe to be true about Jesus. And prepare your heart for the day where we celebrate the glorious triumph over evil and death through Jesus Christ's resurrection. 

(And if you want to journey this beautiful season together, check out SheReadsTruth.com for what is sure to be an excellent lent devotional series.)