Lent begins in ashes and ends in the Resurrection
Lent is a call. It is a calling to every man, woman and child who would bear the name Christian. Lent is the time of year where, as a church, we put lip service aside, humble ourselves and submit to the disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil (Joel 2.13)
Lent is a call to follow Christ into the desert, to face the temptations that come against us and to conquer. But not as a mercenary, we are called to fight along side our creator and the author of our salvation, the one who has already overcome sin and temptation and death.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome him. Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4.4).
Lent is an opportunity for us to sacrifice the idols in our lives before the altar of God. It is a chance for us to begin to die to ourselves, turn away from our unfaithfulness and to allow God to uproot the sin and vice in our hearts.
Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1.6
Now is the time to walk with Christ and to learn to truly love God. And you will know that love is what it says it is when it goes by the name of sacrifice.
