Lent: Not just for Catholics?

Lent- An annual fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 work days to Easter, observed by Roman Catholics, Anglican and certain other churches. (Dictionary.com)

Well, in case you don't know, I'm not Catholic, I'm a southern Baptist. Therefore I'm not going to claim to know all there is regarding Lent. However I've been doing a little research and I'm thinking it's something many more of us should take part in, at least at some level. Let me tell you why.

(Disclaimer: I also do not claim to be a Bible scholar, this is as much a part of my journey as any, getting to know my Savior. I share what is on my heart, not as a command for you to live your life by... That is your journey.)

With Google, you can easily find all the information you ever wanted plus some about Lent if you would like to learn more about what all it entails in the Catholic religion. A few things I learned however definitely intrigued me and convinced me to take part... in my own way.

Lent is described as a season of self examination, fasting, and penance in preparation for Easter day. I found the 40 days of Lent where chosen based on two Biblical accounts; the 40 years of wilderness wandering by the Isrealites and our Lord's 40 days in the wilderness at which point He was tempted by Satan. I learned that fasting, prayer and almsgiving are considered to be the 3 main objectives, if you will, of Lent. All 3 of which are sound scriptural practices.

As Christians I find we often make a huge deal about Christmas; the sweet baby Jesus, decorating a tree, picking out gifts for loved ones, decorating, baking cookies, parties, candlelight services, retelling the Christmas story, advent calendars and wreaths, the list goes on and on. Don't get me wrong, the miracle of the the birth of our Savior is definitely something to celebrate! And in our minds the birth of a baby is probably much easier to process than Crucifixion as a reason to celebrate. But a few months later we come to Palm Sunday, Good Friday (death) and Easter (resurrection).  We get dressed up, go to church on Easter Sunday, find some Easter eggs, have some Ham and move on... Wait a minute!... Do we not understand the significance of this day?

So if you don't know the Easter story let me (roughly) sum it up for you:

That miracle baby we love to celebrate on December 25 (or the entire season after Thanksgiving, or is it Halloween now) was Jesus Christ. God himself came to Earth in the flesh, He was sent for one thing- to save me and you, sinners, from this dark world, from eternity in hell. How would He do this? He would be convicted unjustly of a crime by his peers, beaten, probably beyond recognition, stripped of His clothes and have a crown of thorns embedded in His head. All this before being nailed to a cross where he would be hung, left to bleed to death, out where all who wanted to watch him die could. His death on the cross would be the promise of eternal life for all of us who choose to declare God our Lord and Savior. Jesus would be buried in a tomb but the tomb would not be where he stayed. Three days after he died such a cruel death, he rose. Jesus defeated death. And that is why Christians celebrate Easter. We celebrate Jesus overcoming death so we can live eternally in Heaven with Him, worshiping God. (Don't take my word for it, please take to read the whole story by clicking here - Matthew 26-28 )

Worth reflecting on, preparing for and celebrating?

If we roughly look to the example of the Catholics we will consider reflecting, preparing and celebrating by means of fasting, praying and almsgiving. 

Fasting is simply a way of saying to the Lord, less of me, more of You. Fasting is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. (Here are a few: Moses- Exodus 34:27-28, Israelites- Judges 20:26, David- 2 Samuel 12:16, Jews in Susa- Esther 4:15-16, Ninevites- Jonah 3:5-8, Jesus- 4:1-2 And there are so many more.) Fasting can help us learn and demonstrate better self control, one of the fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23. Fasting during Lent was often done as a reminder of those forced to fast daily because of poverty. Giving up meat was also used as a reminder of how those living in poverty are forced to eat.What could we, should we, fast from for 40 days to help us focus on the gift of salvation?   Fasting in my opinion can take many forms. And I'm not saying don't eat at all for 40 days. I think fasting for this purpose should possibly include eliminating whatever takes the majority of my time or something I let control me. This time should then be replaced by seeking God and letting Him guide and direct me, giving Him control. We should be spending this time in the Bible and praying.

How wonderful would 40 days of purposeful prayer and repentance be as we prepare our hearts to celebrate, Jesus saving us from our sins.  I can think of no better time to seek God, to tell Him how thankful we are, to declare to Him our love. To seek His plan for our life, for each day. To ask him to point out sin in our life some blinding, some we have been blinded to. Praying for loved ones and all of those around the world who do not understand Easter. Praying that we ourselves would begin to understand better the eternal significance of this season. Praying for our children, our churches, our friends, our neighbors. Praying for opportunity and courage to share the gospel. Simply praying and growing closer to the Lord. And at the end of the 40 days being unable to return to the person we were before our special time with Him.

And almsgiving, giving to the poor and needy. We all need to experience the hope that Easter promises, but those who are poor and in need especially need to be told, not told, shown this hope, the hope of Jesus. If we can be of assistance to those who desperately need that hope we will be the living gospel to them. Isn't that what Easter is all about, sharing the Good News? I'm fairly certain if we spent 40 days almsgiving we would desire to spend the other 325 days of the year the exact same way!

So here's what I'm thinking, Lent is for us all. Easter is a rather big deal. And while we spend a lot of time preparing our hearts for Christmas, I think preparing our hearts for Easter, reminding ourselves of the extreme sacrifice the Lord made for you and me so that we would not spend eternity in hell seems of great importance to me. If you don't know Jesus and would like to, 40 days questioning Him and seeking His truth is an awesome place to start. If you've been introduced to Jesus but walked away from Him, for whatever the reason, what better time to remind yourself of that amazing sacrifice He made in your name. There may be no better time to repent and draw near to Him than now. And if you walk with Jesus daily, take time to ask Him to search you and show you things you've let become routine, people who need you to be the gospel to them, to grow closer than you've ever been to Him. I honestly just can't see where we can go wrong with this. Whether you call it Lent, or just preparation, whether you're Catholic, southern Baptist, somewhere in between, or none of the above, I'm certain this time is for you.

Will you join me in this? Take 40 days (39 now) to fast, pray and give to those poor and in need? This is something special between you and God, no one else needs to know, everything you do is for an audience of One.