Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing for 40 days not including the Sundays culminating on Easter, is a season that Christians celebrate yearly as part of the journey through Christ’s life. It is designed to be a continuum of reflection, sacrifice, and repentance until Christ’s triumphant raising from the dead on Easter morning. During this time, we are to focus on the struggles and sacrifices that Christ made to save us while he lived among us.
Growing up in a Christian home, I have celebrated the season of lent my entire life. It is a time to try and understand how the sacrifice Christ made for us should lead us to live differently. I don’t believe we will ever be done exploring these concepts. We will only know the complete truth when we are reunited with Christ.
Often, the season of lent is more somber until the joyous Easter Sunday resurrection. To be honest, I always appreciated and connected to Holy Week, but the general feeling and emotion that accompanied Lent never felt comforting. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect life to always be comfortable. It is good to have to wrestle with things because often something better comes as a result. Everything in life is not always joyful, and there is validity in recognizing that we have fallen short and need to re-correct. However, as I reflect this year on lent, I believe we can arrive at the same results without being solemn while we try to right our paths.
Repentance
Often during lent, the term repentance is used to describe the journey during this season. To me, it always seemed harsh; always felt like we should feel miserable about how we may have strayed from Christ and there never seemed much hope to move beyond that feeling. Repentance in Greek actually means to “change your mind.” I liked learning this meaning of repentance. It feels more hopeful and not something to dread. It doesn’t mean we need to stay stuck in a place of despair when we know we have sinned. Before I found this meaning, for me, when I would hear the word repentance, it left me with this grim emotion that really kept me from truly experiencing its true intentions. We shouldn’t feel unworthy of Christ’s love.
We are all sinful people but God is so incredibly loving that he forgives us for our indiscretions when we truly ask for forgiveness and He accepts us back in with open arms and doesn’t remind us of our past mistakes. Our slate is wiped clean in God’s eyes. So, as we take time during lent to self-correct, I feel we should be kinder and more joyful to ourselves. I believe we can get the same desired results of walking a life closer to Christ and recognizing how blessed we are by Christ’s sacrifice for our sins but without the guilt and shame that we may put on ourselves when we recognize that we have failed in some of those ways.
Follow me as we explore
Follow me as I journey through this concept and explore how we can repent but still feel worthy in the process. Think back to something you realize was a mistake or something you wish you could change. In order to make a change, the first step is recognizing where you fell short. Instead of berating yourself or going through a series of negative self-talk which is never productive, we turn that around and look for the lesson in that experience; how we can make sure we prevent it from happening again in the future. In some cases, it may require us to try and make amends with someone who we may have hurt or we may have to forgive ourselves for making a decision we wish we didn’t. These are not easy practices, but very healthy and therapeutic. Finally, seek out a plan to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Once we have journeyed through the process of repentance, we can move forward on a better path. This can lead us to realize where and how we sinned or fell short and look for a positive outcome and center ourselves again on a path with Christ. We will feel more confident in our correction and feel worthy of the forgiveness and accept the love God so freely gives to us. He loves us unconditionally. This knowledge is a huge blessing that we all need when we have messed up.
Another common struggle
Another struggle can occur when we look at a situation from the vantage point of lack or missing out on something. It becomes harder to stick with it when we want to change. We might feel like it is too hard to break the habit or make the change. For instance, if you decide for Lent that you are going to quit complaining, this can seem almost impossible if this is a real struggle for you. This mindset is solely based on the negative action. You might feel defeated even before you start or the first time you fail to be successful at making the change. However, if you take the same goal of not complaining and turn it more positive you could set yourself up for better success. So instead of focusing on quitting complaining, you could frame it as I will look for the positive whenever I’m challenged.
Just by reframing your thoughts, you are setting a more positive atmosphere around a serious problem that you really want to improve. By being more positive to start with, you might handle yourself with more grace when you fail to initially be successful on your desire to change. God gives us grace every single day! We don’t earn it; it is often undeserved, but it is given to us anyways because we are His and He loves us. Shouldn’t we be willing to extend ourselves grace so we can continue to strive for being better. Grace doesn’t give us the license to not try and just settle for something less than we can be, but it gives us a loving place to restart and continue to strive to be more like Christ.
Focus
I believe that if we focus more on the meaning of repentance as a “change of mind” and we give ourselves or others grace, we could truly understand the sacrifice that Christ endured for us because we will understand how hard it can be. God just wants us to strive to live our best life by being as much like Christ as we can be. He loves us, encourages us, supports us and even carries us when we need it.
So, this Lent, I encourage you to look for ways in which you can “change your mind” and center yourself with Christ. Be kind to yourself and others. We are all on a journey together through life. Recognize the sacrifice, but celebrate that we have the best support system we could ever have as we continually work toward being like Christ. My fellow friends, it is a lifelong journey. Our work will never be complete here on Earth, but relish the journey as we are working toward something better every day!
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Rooted in Love: Lent Reflections on Life in Christ |