This past Wednesday, many Christian churches observed the beginning of the season of Lent. That Wednesday is called Ash Wednesday, and I shared a little bit about it in a previous post.
As we go into this Lent season, I've noticed over the years that there are a number of misunderstandings about this season of the church year. So I would like to take up a few posts and speak to some of the things that you may or may not know about Lent, in the hopes of clearing up some of those misunderstandings.
The first one for today is that Lent is all about focusing on our sins, and basically, just making ourselves as miserable as possible. In the eyes of some, Lent almost seems to be a time to wallow in how poor and miserable we are as sinners, to take every sin and turn it over in our minds, so that we get downright miserable thinking about our sin. I'm not sure, but perhaps the hope in this is to make our sin seem so repugnant that we simply stop doing it.
So let's clear up this misunderstanding. It is true that we tend to have a focus on our sin during this Lent season, but for many churches and Christians, it is not more focused than at other times of the year. The thing with Lent is that we think about our sin because we realize that we have been bought at a price, that of Christ's own suffering and death on the cross, and His victorious resurrection from the dead. So we think about our sin, not to make us miserable, but because we recognize that Jesus died to take away that sin.
Now, another part of the Lent focus is one that is actually also found throughout the year in so many Christian churches. As we recognize that Jesus has died to forgive our sins, and that He gives us that forgiveness freely, part of our response is to battle against that sin in our lives. Here's where it gets a little tricky, though. Because sin is a much deeper problem than just what we do or fail to do, because it is a condition in which we are born in this world, we will never overcome it, no matter how hard we may try. We may have times in our lives where we seem to have it under control, and then it will suddenly reassert itself. We can never overcome it on our own, which is where the cross of Jesus comes in.
But the real reason we focus on it is because the season of Lent points us to a very important truth for our lives: God is a God of forgiveness. God's idea from the very beginning was that no single human being would have to suffer judgment and condemnation for their sin. If you read John 3:16-17, you see that God sent Jesus in order that the world would be saved and forgiven. Thus, when we focus on our sin during the season of Lent, it is always to point us to the fact that we have been forgiven by God through Jesus and the cross for that sin, no matter how bad it may have been, and no matter how much we may continue to struggle with it in our lives.
So the focus on our sin isn't to wallow in misery, but to recognize our forgiveness in Jesus. So as you journey through this Lent season, I pray that you are reminded of your forgiveness which Jesus has purchased just for you, and which you share with every other Christian in the world!
As we go into this Lent season, I've noticed over the years that there are a number of misunderstandings about this season of the church year. So I would like to take up a few posts and speak to some of the things that you may or may not know about Lent, in the hopes of clearing up some of those misunderstandings.
The first one for today is that Lent is all about focusing on our sins, and basically, just making ourselves as miserable as possible. In the eyes of some, Lent almost seems to be a time to wallow in how poor and miserable we are as sinners, to take every sin and turn it over in our minds, so that we get downright miserable thinking about our sin. I'm not sure, but perhaps the hope in this is to make our sin seem so repugnant that we simply stop doing it.
So let's clear up this misunderstanding. It is true that we tend to have a focus on our sin during this Lent season, but for many churches and Christians, it is not more focused than at other times of the year. The thing with Lent is that we think about our sin because we realize that we have been bought at a price, that of Christ's own suffering and death on the cross, and His victorious resurrection from the dead. So we think about our sin, not to make us miserable, but because we recognize that Jesus died to take away that sin.
Now, another part of the Lent focus is one that is actually also found throughout the year in so many Christian churches. As we recognize that Jesus has died to forgive our sins, and that He gives us that forgiveness freely, part of our response is to battle against that sin in our lives. Here's where it gets a little tricky, though. Because sin is a much deeper problem than just what we do or fail to do, because it is a condition in which we are born in this world, we will never overcome it, no matter how hard we may try. We may have times in our lives where we seem to have it under control, and then it will suddenly reassert itself. We can never overcome it on our own, which is where the cross of Jesus comes in.
But the real reason we focus on it is because the season of Lent points us to a very important truth for our lives: God is a God of forgiveness. God's idea from the very beginning was that no single human being would have to suffer judgment and condemnation for their sin. If you read John 3:16-17, you see that God sent Jesus in order that the world would be saved and forgiven. Thus, when we focus on our sin during the season of Lent, it is always to point us to the fact that we have been forgiven by God through Jesus and the cross for that sin, no matter how bad it may have been, and no matter how much we may continue to struggle with it in our lives.
So the focus on our sin isn't to wallow in misery, but to recognize our forgiveness in Jesus. So as you journey through this Lent season, I pray that you are reminded of your forgiveness which Jesus has purchased just for you, and which you share with every other Christian in the world!
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