The Season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday and is recognized as the period of forty days plus six Sundays leading up Resurrection Sunday. It is typically a time when people give up certain things that they identify as not being good for them. Some people give up fast food, chocolate, or ice cream. While there may be some physical benefit to not only giving these things up during lent but other times of the year, I am not sure that there is much if any spiritual benefit to such “sacrifices.”
Sacrifice is a theme of the season. It is the time of year in the church year when we intentionally focus on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Lent is a time that affords us the opportunity to evaluate our spiritual lives, to reflect on areas of our lives in which we have fell short of living up to the standard God has given to us in His word. It is the time when we come face to face with the ugliness of our sin and the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ to deal with the consequences of that sin once and for all.
Instead of being content to give up fast food, chocolate, or ice cream, perhaps, in sticking with the idea of sacrifice, we can take time, money, or other resources that we would have spent on ourselves and invest those resources in someone else. Perhaps we can consider developing a more disciplined prayer lives and even fasting from more than just food, but fasting from cell phones or other things that distract us from our relationships with others and with the Lord. Once we come to faith in Christ the process of becoming like Him begins. This process requires work and yes sacrifice. May we sacrifice for Christ as He sacrificed for us. May we live for Him as He has died for us.