A good friend posted on Facebook earlier this week about a problem at work and how terrible he felt. We were commenting back and forth about how this season of Lent leans towards seeing our own inadequacies on display. Sin is ugly, but it does give God room to grow bigger in our lives. We are dust, ash.
I cannot keep the law. I need Him.
I didn't attend Ash Wednesday services this year. Ash Wednesday. Crosses on the forehead. These are reminders for us. We are ash. It's a reminder from Genesis 3:19, "Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return."
Once again, Ann Voskamp expresses the frustration and fruition of Lent in the shortest summary ever.
"I can't seem to follow through in giving up for Lent. Which makes me want to just give up Lent. Which makes me question who I am following. Which may precisely be the point of Lent."
We know what Lent is. It's preparing the heart for Easter. It is similar to Jesus being in the desert for 40 days. It is also similar to the Israelites wandering for 40 years. We do it so we might come to face to face with our enemy. We sacrifice so that we might become more like Christ in his sacrifice.
Lent teaches us how depraved we are. We are ashes. We are dust. We are incapable in the flesh. I am incapable in the flesh. I can't keep the law. I need HIM.
This is a tough journey that leads to joy. You are supposed to give up something. Forfeit something. Forfeiting becomes formation. I give up. I forfeit. I fast. I forget. I fall. I fail. I am ash. I am dust.
Lent. The word itself comes from Middle English, lente, for the season of spring. A rebirth. A new beginning. Herein lies the beauty. I am supposed to fail. The deeper I fall into the pit of my own depravity, the deeper I will drink from the fountain of joy.
Everything we experience from Ash Wednesday up through Easter is a reminder of how great the Gift really is. Reconciliation for the world here and now.
Enlightenment, transformation, and salvation are gifts we will experience as we move through this season.
Can you feel the Gift start to move through you? Grace and peace filling your space.
I cannot keep the law. I need Him.
I didn't attend Ash Wednesday services this year. Ash Wednesday. Crosses on the forehead. These are reminders for us. We are ash. It's a reminder from Genesis 3:19, "Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return."
Once again, Ann Voskamp expresses the frustration and fruition of Lent in the shortest summary ever.
"I can't seem to follow through in giving up for Lent. Which makes me want to just give up Lent. Which makes me question who I am following. Which may precisely be the point of Lent."
We know what Lent is. It's preparing the heart for Easter. It is similar to Jesus being in the desert for 40 days. It is also similar to the Israelites wandering for 40 years. We do it so we might come to face to face with our enemy. We sacrifice so that we might become more like Christ in his sacrifice.
Lent teaches us how depraved we are. We are ashes. We are dust. We are incapable in the flesh. I am incapable in the flesh. I can't keep the law. I need HIM.
This is a tough journey that leads to joy. You are supposed to give up something. Forfeit something. Forfeiting becomes formation. I give up. I forfeit. I fast. I forget. I fall. I fail. I am ash. I am dust.
Lent. The word itself comes from Middle English, lente, for the season of spring. A rebirth. A new beginning. Herein lies the beauty. I am supposed to fail. The deeper I fall into the pit of my own depravity, the deeper I will drink from the fountain of joy.
Everything we experience from Ash Wednesday up through Easter is a reminder of how great the Gift really is. Reconciliation for the world here and now.
Enlightenment, transformation, and salvation are gifts we will experience as we move through this season.
Can you feel the Gift start to move through you? Grace and peace filling your space.
RSS Feed