It may sound strange to think of a season marked with fasting and penitence as a gift, but it is!
Lent is preparation for a feast. You can’t feast if your stomach is full of cheese puffs. You can’t wear a wedding dress over your workout clothes. We get ready for the feast by looking deeply at all the sin and distractions that entangle us, and begging God to remove them. We get ready by looking intently at our brokenness, and asking God to heal us. We get ready by letting Aslan tear off our dragon-skin so we can be made clean and new.
Take time to mourn your sin, with all its consequences. Lament, but take heart. Mourn your sin so you can rejoice in the hope of Christ. It may be a paradox, but it’s true—there is joy for Christians who recognize their sin and look to Christ. Your love for God will increase as you learn to hate your sin. Your experience of the presence of God will grow as you dig deeper into the life of repentance.
“The Spirit and the Bride say ‘come’… Let the one who is thirsty come.” And as you wait for that feast, receive this time of preparation as the gift that it is.
-Justin