So What Did You Give Up For Lent?

Lately I’ve been reading about a surprising amount (at least to me) of Christians who seem to be celebrating Lent. Growing up I’d always thought of Lent as a “Catholic” thing and not really for us Protestants. So I wondered what the big deal was. Why am I seeing so many Christians celebrating Lent? So I started looking into what was making it so popular now.

First of all, just what is Lent? Here is the short version...As best as we can tell, Lent (as it is called today, but not back then) seems to have first begun as a 40 hour fast over a 2 day period of time, the 2 days before Easter Sunday. It was to supposedly reflect the 40 hours or so that Jesus was physically dead and in the tomb. By the mid-third century, the time of fasting was up to six days and later Socrates related that the Christians of Rome, at some point, fasted for up to three weeks.

Then in 325 A.D., after the Council of Nicea, the time of fasting was set to be 40 days in length, what we see today. But there are varying speculations about exactly how it all began, why it began and what other factors may have been involved in the development of what we today call, Lent.

The observance of Lent (even before it was called that) has had a variety of ways in which it was practiced, ranging from strict dietary and activity related restrictions to what we see today, which can be as basic as “giving up something I enjoy” for 40 days.

Even today we can see a variety of ways in which people practice Lent. Some still very strictly, some very loosely. Some involving a greater focus on spiritual disciplines; such as prayer or Bible reading and others simply denying oneself a certain pleasure for the duration of the season.

However, Lent is not anything that we read about in Scripture as being something we are to observe, and by looking at it historically, we see easily that it is a man-developed observance in all of its forms and evolutions. So how should we view it today?

Some would answer that we ought to simply reject the idea and practice of Lent as something non-biblical or extra-biblical, which can be made into a form of legalistic practice, leading into wrong forms of worship. And that is true. But we could make the same argument about things like Good Friday, Passover, a Reformation Celebration or even Christmas...and these are things that we will easily at least acknowledge, if not outright celebrate.

Others would say that we should definitely celebrate Lent as it can be used in a positive way to help us focus more of our mind and lives on living for Christ and that making sacrifices towards that end are good. And that is true also. But we could then also make the argument that this kind of practice should be our daily desire, and not just something reserved for the 40 days before Easter.

So why the attraction for so many Christians today? I think the answer to that varies. Some people really like structure and things like Lent can help them in some ways by adding an element of structure in their lives. Others will use the season of Lent as an element of how they focus on Christ during that set period of time.

Some may simply observe Lent merely out of things like tradition, obligation or even guilt. Yet others may fall to the idea of “spirituality” and may think that observing Lent will somehow make them more “spiritual” in some way. Some might even simply say that they do it because it makes them feel good. Lent, then, can be observed for both good and bad reasons, so it becomes very important for the Christian to be thinking rightly about this and things like this.

Let’s turn to Scripture for a moment. Romans 14:1-12 reads...

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Verse 5 above (in bold) tells us how we are as people...some of us think all days are the same and others of us hold up some days in greater esteem. The bottom line for Paul is that...

1. We should each be convinced in our mind what we believe (assuming our beliefs our rooted in truth).
2. We should not judge each other (meaning in a condemning way) because of those convictions.
3. We should remember that we will stand before God and give an account of ourselves, including about how we held our convictions and what we did about them.

So then in regards to the question of whether or not a Christian can or should observe Lent, Scripture would leave it up to a one’s own conviction. But, it would also expect that one’s conviction would be biblically informed and supported. This would be true of any other man-made type of observance like this, as well as all other things we do in life.

I wouldn’t encourage someone to observe Lent out of duty or obligation to some form of religion. I wouldn’t encourage someone to do it because other Christians are doing it or told them they should. It shouldn’t be used as some kind of “feel good” experiment nor as a way to try and make oneself get “more spiritual” in some way.

Those, along with others, would be wrong ways to observe Lent in a profitable way. I could see someone using the season of Lent as one of the means by which they are pursuing normal disciplines of grace, just as one might do with reading a devotional book each morning, or even attending a conference in the mountains. But it shouldn’t be thought of as anything more than what it is...a man-made observance that can be utilized, if done so properly, to be a helpful tool used to live more of life rooted in the grace of Christ.

Some thoughts to consider. Lent is an observance that has as a goal, self-sacrifice and a greater focus on God. Scripture calls us to the same...except for more than just 40 days! Jesus said in Luke 9:23...”And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus’ call to us is to be self-sacrificial on a daily basis, so this ought to be a way in which Christians strive to live 365 days of the year (though we all struggle with this, to be sure).

Also, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to...“...take every thought captive to obey Christ...”. Again, what Scripture calls us to is a 365 day, 24 hour a day submission to Christ, which requires a focus on him always (and we all struggle with this too!).

These things do not mean that all we do is huddle up in a corner together thinking “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” then inserting a Bible reading and a song here and there. What it does mean is that the Christian life is a daily battle. A daily work out. A daily remembrance. Part of that remembrance ought to be like what Jesus commands us to do in remembering the bread and the cup that represent his sacrifice for us.

• It reminds us of the finished work of Jesus in paying for our sins.
• It reminds us of the present help from Jesus in the living of our lives.
• It reminds us of the future hope we have in Jesus in regards to his promise for us.

Christian...if you do observe Lent, may it be a time of rest and reflection! Rest in the finished work of Jesus that is then the cause for you desiring to live your life more fully devoted to and focused on him! Reflect on how he supplies all that we need...past, present and future! May this be the desire for all of us...24/7...365 days of the year!

There is nothing special about Lent. There is everything special about Jesus and being able to live in and under his grace! So do that!...every day...Lent or not!

May the Lord help us to grow in faith and the understanding of the grace that we have been given so as to cause us to live out all of our days for him!

Seeking to live this way with you!

Chris Kiiskinen is one of our pastors at Grace