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Lent - Finding Identity!


The forty days of Lent is a time for us to remember and reflect upon the word “sacrifice” and how that definition applies to our spiritual lives. It is a “surrendering” of sorts as we make our life “less about us” and “more about others.” It is also a time that we learn how to give up something that is a sacrifice, an act of self-denial, or some act that will remind us of Christ.

Lent is sacred and spiritual for every Christian. It isn’t a “Catholic thing” or a “Protestant thing,” or even “just during Lent, thing,” but a way of life for every Christian. Yes, more emphasis is placed on “sacrifice” during Lent, because there needs to be a season that reminds us of the great sacrifice of Christ for each one of us.

Centuries ago Jesus Christ went through an agony, a scourging, a crowning and a crucifixion. The tragedy of Good Friday led to the triumph of Easter Sunday. The acts of self-denial, the acts of sacrifice we make during this season helps us identify with the sacrifices of Christ.

Uniting our sacrifice with that of Christ, uniting our pain with his, Lent is set aside just to remind us of these factors. Lent is not just a season we reflect upon and apply only to ourselves. Our acts of self-denial, our acts of sacrifices not only are directed to Christ, but to our neighbor. The whole thrust of the season of Lent is to decrease our humanity, increase our spirituality, and deepen our relationship with God our Father.

“How we accomplish this” and what that looks like comes from the simple knowledge that anything worthwhile in life demands a sacrifice. I read in a devotional article just this morning that said, “There's more joy in suffering with Jesus than in having pleasure without Him.” We must come to the point where we can truly say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

I think it's safe to say that all of us have experienced some sort of agony, a scourging, a crucifixion. It might be the agony of trying to forget a past mistake, it might be the scourging of some physical illness that just won't go away, or watching a loved one make tragic mistakes over and over again in life. You, in this year, might be going through a crucifixion of a different kind.

Lent reminds you that Christ has already been where you are. Lent reminds you that if you identify your suffering with the suffering of Christ your cross will become lighter. Lent reminds you not only of the suffering of Christ, but of the love of Christ.

The more you realize the sacredness of this season, the more you offer your suffering in union with the suffering of Christ, the more you identify with Christ, the stronger your faith becomes and the more faith-filled you become, the more sacred your Lent becomes. The more sacred your Lent becomes, the greater the revelation of your identity in Christ Jesus becomes. Continue the journey this Lenten season!


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