What are you giving up for Lent?

The season of Lent is a penitential season, which means we focus on our sin and what Jesus did because of our sin. It is a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter. Most of the music is somber and it usually speaks of blood & sacrifice.

Probably the most familiar tradition associated with Lent is ³giving something up for Lent,² making a personal sacrifice, usually abstaining from some personal pleasure like a favorite food for 40 days. This practice is a form of fasting, giving up food for a time.

So should you give up something for Lent? It depends why youıre doing it. If you are doing so to get ³points² with God, then no, you should not. God already loves you for Jesusı sake, and that has nothing to do with your works.

But if youıd like to give something up as an expression of faith, ³God, Iım going to give up this thing to strengthen my faith, to help me to really see that all I need is You,² then I heartily recommend doing so. It is an excellent faith-growing exercise to help you put God first in your life.

But whether you give up some material blessing for a time or not, Lent is a good time for all of us to give up sin. Are you holding onto a sin in your life? Are you committed to a sinful course of action? No matter how entrenched you are in sin, repentance is the easiest way out, and it truly works. Give your sins to God by being honest with Him about your sin, ³laying it on the table² in front of God. ³Lord, I have sinned against you and have put my own Œneedsı ahead of Your perfect will for me. Forgive me, and show me Your way.²

But what about those sins that keep coming back, that haunt you, that make you feel dirty, that make you feel unlovable? Thatıs what Absolution is for. Because Jesus paid the penalty for your sin on the cross, God has no condemnation for you. The pastor is Christıs representative, ready to forgive, and if the pastor forgives you, then God forgives you.

So this Lent, give your sins to God. He's already disposed of them for Jesusı sake.