Lent – a time to reflect and act

We are so very blessed to Have Pastor Rick Frederickson of the Springfield, Minnesota United Methodist Church share us. Rick is one of my heroes of faith! He answered the call of God to become a Pastor! Rick and I both grew up in Windom, Minnesota. I am very thankful for all the Pastors, Missionaries, and all other Christian leaders that have come out of Windom! Pictured above is Pastor Rick with his lovely angel wife Sue. Sue works at the Windom Citizen newspaper and is a Marketing Representative. Sue places all of our scripture ads in the Citizen for us!

Lent – a time to reflect and act

For much of my life, Lent was pretty much a non-event. Sure, I’d go to an Ash Wednesday service if I felt like it. If I wasn’t too busy I’d hit an occasional weekly Lenten service. The same went for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – although I didn’t care much for Good Friday, it seemed like such a downer . . .  Yes, I wanted to skip Lent and go right to Easter.

But as I grew in my faith Lent began to take on a deeper meaning.

I realize now that Lent is a time to reflect on what is wrong with us – our sins. And it is a time to reflect on the perfect love and goodness of Jesus and what he did for us. It’s a time to reflect on what his passion, suffering and death means for our sinful lives.

Yes, Lent is a time to reflect. But it’s also a time to act.

It is a time to act and give up those sins in our lives. It’s a time to give up the sin of hypocrisy – acting like a Christian on the outside, but being proud and self-centered on the inside.

Lent is a time to give up the sin of being two-faced – being a Christian on Sundays, but being an unbeliever on Fridays. It’s a time to give up the sin of being lethargic – “someday I’ll get my act together spiritually. Right now, though, I’m just too busy focusing on everything except God.”

Lent is repentance and praying to God, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

For us sinners, Lent is uncomfortable precisely because is a time for repentance – and change. And because most of us don’t like change, it is uncomfortable to give up our sinful habits, our sinful attitudes.

Oh, but when we do! When we act and stand before God and to ask him to forgive us, to wash our sins away, and to empower us to turn away from our sinful past and to live new lives that are dedicated to Him, the change is glorious!

And after we act lay our sins before Christ, we joyfully give up our guilty feelings and know that we have been forgiven.

For when we acknowledge our sins and lay them before Jesus, we are forgiven and begin to live that new life. Lent is a time for us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and understand what his passion means for our lives.

Don’t let this Lenten season to become a non-event for you. Make a real effort to walk in His footsteps and lay your sins before Him.

Lent is an important time for all of us. We walk in the shadows of our sin; we walk in love of Jesus’ passion, so that lent gives our lives more meaning.