Lent is a Christian holy observance. It is an old English word shortened from Lenten, which means “Spring Season”. The word is from Latin descent: Quadragesima meaning “Fortieth”.
There is a direct connection between Lent and the 40 days of prayer and fasting Jesus endured in the desert while being tempted by Satan. This story is one of the few stories found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke's gospels. If you do not know the story, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit comes down like a dove and rests on Jesus. It is then that a voice speaks from Heaven and says, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased”. As a side note, this is a profound moment as it was before Jesus had begun any public ministry, yet God was already proud of Him. I wonder if we knew God was proud of us, how that would change our daily lives?
But it was just after this moment of Baptism that Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Spirit, where He would fast for 40 days. While in the desert for 40 days, he is tempted by the Devil. The idea of 40 has a massive Biblical significance; in more than 20 places, we see the number 40. For example, it rained for 40 days in the days of Noah. In the case of Moses, the Israelites walked 40 years around the wilderness. The spies searched the land of Canaan for 40 days in the book of Numbers, and there are many more.
Lent is 40 days long and in the Western Church this begins on Ash Wednesday every year following Shrove or Pancake Tuesday and ends on the evening of Maundy Thursday or at sundown on Holy Saturday when Easter is then celebrated.
Depending on the denomination Lent is a daily act for 6 whole weeks, or for some religious groups they do not include the Sundays. If Sundays are included in Lent this is 46 days, minus the Sundays it equals 40 exact days.
Lent is observed in many church denominations including Baptist, Methodist, Protestant, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and nondenominational churches to name only a few.
Why Do Christians Observe Lent?
The purpose of Lent is to look inward to our souls, to confess our failings and our sins, to repent from the past sins we committed where need be, to reassess our lives and ask ourselves where in us needs to be purified by God. But also, to rededicate our lives to the Lord and resolve to live a God driven life and one that honours Him.
Over Lent, Christians pray similar to that of the Psalmist, “create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit in me”. Lent is an important time as it helps us to prepare our hearts for the Easter Season. But it is an outward-looking time also, as it is during Lent that folks will give alms to the poor and less fortunate and bless those as they are able. Maybe for some that will be donating a week’s worth of groceries to a family or foodbank, for others it may be laying an extra seat at our dinner table and welcoming in someone who would be alone. For others, the gifting may lie somewhere in between. There are no set rules for Alms giving.
These 40 days are also a time to fast and focus on the Lord and what He did to make our salvation available to us. During Lent, there is usually a sacrifice made for those who can. Fasting foods are not recommended for those with medical issues, women depending on their cycles, children, and those who are pregnant. But fasting for some will include simple things like a favourite treat, junk foods, or chocolate, for others it is a meal a day, for others this is something that absorbs their time and takes them further from the Lord, e.g., social media or TV. Then this time would be rededicated to focus in and listen to the Lord, hearing His voice and spending time in His presence.
As well as fasting, sacrificing, and praying, there is an increase in the time Christians or Christ followers will spend reading the word of God and meditating upon it. Daily devotions are easily obtained to follow through the scriptures. Some people will read through the stations of the cross to remind themselves of the gravity of the crucifixion. Some will read a whole book of the bible and study it alongside commentaries. There is no set scripture we must read, but we must read the scriptures. The purpose of this daily reading is to turn our eyes from the world around us and to, as James states, “draw near to God,” learning more about who He is from the active living word of God.
Why Is Lent important to Christians?
Lent holds a vital role in the life of a Christian, if taken seriously. Simply put it is a season, as we have previously said, that parallels, or mirrors the 40 days in the wilderness where Jesus fasted, leaned into the Holy Spirit, and the period of time where He was tempted by the devil yet remained sinless.
This season’s importance is because it is a moment in the year where Christians can come aside from their usual day-to-day and refocus on God. Within these 40 days, we will read the stories running up to the crucifixion and the death of Jesus. We will read of how Jesus loved people well, even Judas despite knowing He was about to betray him, and in his heart he already had. We catch a glimpse once again of the saviour who loved us enough to die in our place, and I would find it hard to believe anyone who understood that afresh wouldn’t want to rededicate their life to that kind of Saviour.
Lent is more than a giving up of Chocolate, but it is a season of heart changing moments, real character changing days and it gives us as believers the opportunity to assess, dig deep and really uproot some of our character traits that we should have left behind us a long time ago.
The lord is gracious to us, pouring out grace and mercy for each day, but I wonder in this season of Lent, what you will sacrifice to spend more time with the Lord? I wonder what in this season God will ask you to lay down to free you to serve Him, or, in what may seem counter to the previous statement, maybe He will ask you to pick something up to do in service for him. Lent is a beautiful season of getting to know God more, and I hope this year as we spend time with God that you do a spring clean of your house as it wear, lay down the gossiping, the lies, the sins, the habits, the things that keep you from the Lord, and pick up the praying, the reading, the focusing on being more like Jesus and see how your life could be changed. But even more so, how those around you could be impacted also!
Maybe this idea of Lent is foreign to you, and you think Easter is nothing more than bunnies and chocolate. If so friend, please contact a local church, they would love to tell you that Easter is so much more!
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Kamil Szumotalski
