to do without?

this time of year, the same question will inevitably surface...causing a mix of emotions (some good, some not-so-pleasant) and people walk away feeling a) guilty ...b) proud of themselves...or c) confused.

the question?

what are you giving up for lent?

i myself am "guilty" of asking that question. i believe i am going to stop...

invariably, the answers are never quick and easy. they are always loaded with baggage...most often served up with a side of guilt. i think we have lost the point somewhere along the way. someone will say that they are giving up sweets or soda or french fries...and this is often said with sadness...and then perhaps a confession of the ways they have already "failed" at this mission just a few days into the lenten season.

or there is always the person who "gives something up"...but it is of no real consequence to his or her daily life...thus, it is not hard to abstain from these desires...and they go about patting themselves on the back for persevering through 40 days without ever "slipping" and giving in to the temptations of this world.

while i am not exactly sure where i stand on the issue of lent, i do know that these forty days have become skewed...legalistic...self-focused.

i see the purpose in fasting. i believe in it. i know fasting is biblical...and that Jesus did so Himself. i have delighted (hungered?) in this process myself from time to time. i see the repentance that springs forth from a concentrated period focused on God and His purposes or presence in our lives. i see how these forty days are for the preparation of our celebration of Calvary and what was done on our behalf one Friday afternoon.

i don't understand the guilt associated with this practice. i don't understand how it has become so manufactured and rule-driven. i don't understand how we lost sight of the Center of it all...

perhaps this season, i will offer a challenge: let us remove the focus from ourselves and what we can/cannot do or should/should not do...and let us lift our eyes to Jesus in hopeful anticipation of glorifying God with thankful hearts for what He did for us on that Cross. let us prepare ourselves to fall before the Throne, covered in grace and an unconditional love that we may never fully understand this side of Heaven...and may we use these forty days to quiet ourselves so that we may hear Him whisper "today you will be with me in paradise..."