Give Up

Today is Ash Wednesday, and even if a cross isn’t marking your forehead, it’s worth your time to consider the moment and what it means.  Forty “fasting days” from today is Easter.  The six Sundays between now and then don’t count because they are “feasting days”—weekly reminders of the joyous resurrection.  Since Jesus fasted forty days in the wilderness, many Christians around the world use these forty days as a time to fast from something they normally want or need.  This “giving up” of a hobby or a habit or something you do or something you eat is an intentional method of keeping your mind and heart more aware of what Christ gave up for you and of helping you prepare to appreciate His sacrifice on the cross and celebrate His triumph over the tomb.

In world crowded with distractions and demands, doing something that daily focuses our attention on that which matters most can only be counted as a good thing.  I know it is for me.  I need the repeated nudge and the recurring prompt to lift my eyes to the One who gave up everything for me.  I need the struggle of wanting to partake or participate and choosing not to because of a commitment.  I need the discipline of denying myself from some small thing to direct my heart to the big thing.

Many of you reading this devotion have never observed Lent—as this season is officially named in the liturgical calendar—and there’s nothing wrong with that at all for it is surely not a Biblical requirement, but even if your church doesn’t promote is publicly, consider it privately and pray that God will use these few weeks before Easter, however He desires, to help you realize more than ever how absolutely astounding is His grace.   

As you think about this, here’s a challenge for the next forty days:  “Give Up” something good and let your refraining be a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for you.  “Give Up” something bad and may your repentance leave the refreshing taste of God’s grace in your heart.  And “Take Up” something Godly—more than ever “make every effort” to live out the holiness of our Heavenly Father in an area you know God wants to make you more like Him.

Before Jesus started His walk to the cross, He fasted forty days to help Him focus fully on what was ahead.  By His grace and mercy, our future is not an eternity of painful separation but a forever of being joyfully together with Him.  Though we should remember this all day every day, sometimes we need specific reminders.  Let Lent this year be that for you.

We give up a little to remind us that He gave up His life.                                                                                                   

Do whatever it takes to get focused on God’s grace.