Lent in the Christian tradition represents a period of 40 days of preparation before Easter. The word “lent” comes from English and it simply means spring. Christians around the world prepare themselves for Easter through prayer, fasting, desire of renouncing certain things in order to stay closer to God. Moses spent 40 days and 4o nights up on the mount Sinai where he stood in the presence of God and become changed. Jesus Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted by Satan. These are the most relevant stories that show towards Lent.
For me Lent is a celebration of rebirth of the soul. A birth that could be possible by dying towards yourself and being born again to the new life in Jesus Christ. I see it as renunciation to the old self and turning 180 degrees to a new nature. As most of the people I decided to give things up for Lent. Some of us give up coffee, sugar, Facebook, maybe they decide to have a diet, but I thought that will be much more useful to give up some parts of myself. I’m telling you this is not an easy thing.
Talking about sacrifice, renouncing caffeine was a bit hard in the beginning, because I love coffee and I live in France the country of good coffee and nice coffee shops but one day I forgot that I need caffeine to stay awake, and I tried different things to get away. But caffeine is not the only thing that I decided to give up, that is just a small part. I’m not saying I don’t drink coffee anymore, cause I do on Sundays at church with my friends. I tried to resist to the temptation of drinking it so often. Sometimes I’m very well without it.
Speaking about coffee and giving up, I guess the hardest thing is to forgo your old nature. Being unselfish is not easy, trying to be quiet when everybody else is talking and you feel you have the right answer to everything, loving your neighbour, watching over your friends when they fell, resist to lust and temptation, that I think, is the most difficult.
I went last month at Taize, a quiet place in the South of France. Taize is a ecumenical Christian Community where young people around the world gather there for prayer and mediation. It is such a nice place to be. There you can easily pray and be a good christian because you don’t have the distractions of the world. Someone was saying that it feels like home, even though they don’t have the best conditions in the world. There you feel carefree, secure and satisfied. I heard the bells 3 times a day and it was clear that the time of prayer begins and we were invited in the church to quiet our soul and stay connected with God. I wish my busy life to be the same. To find that place in my soul that is cozy and pleasant, that accepts people the way the are, not judging or grumbling to every small detail. One place like Taize, where everything is cheap and the people love you the way you are and where brands are not recognized and where people are the same.
A desire to hear the bells in my heart at least 2 times and day and to feel that now is time for communion with God, this is the moment for an unhurried meeting where I can stay and relax for a while in the presence of God. I wish Lent will not become a hard time, where i strife so much to obey God and to abandon my feelings and to drop by the wayside all my luggage of food and bad behaviour. I want 40 days or at least what is left of it till Easter, of serenity, love and true obedience. Something that I know is not easy but I’m not going to harden myself by saying ‘Oh again, I have to do that, give up this and listen to God’ and I fail and I never try again.
I will rise above my circumstances, my unfulfilled desires and unreached goals and I will continue to pray, to seek God’s presence until I will see a small plant growing in the earthly soil of my heart. And I will advice you to do the same. Pick up your dusty Bible and a crayon, open your heart and listen. You might hear the voice of the living God and this season of Lent will be the most fruitful time of your life.
Are you familiar with this section of scripture?
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using–according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. [Col 2:20-23]
Yeah I know this verse and it is awesome that is why I think that Lent should be viewed as a time when you remeber that you died with Christ, but that you have to sacrifice everyday you old nature. Jesus also says who wants to follow me must deny himself pick up his cross and follow me. So even if I give up caffeine is nothing, is just a worldy rule…what is harder to do is to decide everyday to follow Jesus.