Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Lent is not a tradition I grew up with, but it has become an important practice in my life over the last couple of years... serving God and my relationship with Him by taking the 40 days leading up to Easter to walk across Spain (last year) and read through the entire Bible (the year before).

People observe Lent in all kinds of different ways. For example, this year Margaret Feinberg is leading people through a study of the Gospels. And the Pope is encouraging people to fast from indifference.

Now we all know that social media is an outlet for many people to complain, air their dirty laundry, and criticize one another. But it still surprises me when I see Christians beating up on other Christians.

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw in my newsfeed yesterday self-proclaimed Jesus followers arguing over whether or not observing Lent honored God, had anything to do with God (are we giving up chocolate and pop to honor God, or to lose weight?), or was our human way of trying to earn our way into Heaven.

I'm all for a healthy discussion. And we should ask ourselves what our intentions are behind our practice. But yesterday's "discussion" quickly turned into a boxing match of beliefs.

Because I didn't grow up with this tradition it is easy for me to say that Lent is a choice. I don't believe for a second that God is mad at me for not observing Lent for the first 30 years of my life. Nor do I think He loves me more this year because of my Lenten practice than He did any of the years I observed the 40-days of Mardi Gras instead of Lent. Why? Because no matter what, Jesus still died on the cross.

However, I have seen my relationship with God grow in different ways during the years I have fasted from something. It has strengthened my faith. Because, like any relationship, our relationship with God is as intimate or as distant as we want it to be. So I know I am serving God through this practice. But I also have to remember that I don't have to wait until Ash Wednesday every year to spend time with God. Nor should that focused attention end on Easter Sunday.