Today I am over at His Mercy if New Blog Sharing about Lent, rest, and daily life. Here is an excerpt.
For a long time, whenever I heard the term Lent, I thought about a bunch of people who gave up eating certain foods for a while as a way to earn their way into God’s favor. I am not entirely sure where that idea came from, nevertheless it was the one I held for some time. In the last year I have been noticing more and more beauty within the forms passed down through the Church to help the believer enter the Divine rest (Heb. 4). I think everyone can agree that Lent is a tradition that many Christians around the world observe,yet some are not sure whether it is a tradition they should attend to and even more disagree on the purpose, nature and powers of Lent. Personally, I cannot pretend to be an expert on these things, nor do I feel equipped to discuss all that Lent is and ought to be. I can however speak as one woman who desperately wants to know and be like her Savior and the role that traditions and the disciplines have played in that pursuit.
I have chosen to celebrate Lent for three main reasons. The spiritual disciplines make room for a holy harvest in the life of the believer, the celebration of Easter invites me to be fully present when the day arrives, and it set a form before me to imitate everyday throughout the year. {…Continue reading over at MeryisNew.com} See you there.
Expanding wisdom, extending grace,
Jen
Lisa A says
Great post! As someone from a tradition that has always observed Great Lent I think you have understood some of the key aspects of this season of the year. It’s always a time I look forward to and participating in it, whether fully or partially, gives the celebration of Easter a greater depth and fullness.
You also make a good point about Easter being the most important day of the year. We call it the Feast of feasts, after all. There is no other day like it. The joy and brightness and sheer transcendence of the day cannot be surpassed! 🙂 Blessings to you this Lent.