Ash Wednesday: Beginning of Lent. 40 days(plus Sundays) of change. For many giving something up. For others adding something. In both cases, the end is in sight, only 39 more days until.....
I wonder if when Jesus went into the wilderness after his baptism, he received a memo from God, "Head for the wilderness, see you in about 40 days (plus Sabbaths)?
We probably believe that Jesus knew what was in store for him, but maybe he didn't. When he returned he started living his life differently. (Check out Luke 4: 14-28) He became homeless, a drifter, a crazy preacher, and a person who people either loved or hated, not too many mentioned that just "liked" him.
So the question for us on this first Thursday of Lent are we counting down the days until we can resume our "normal life"? Only 39 days to have coffee back, or diet Coke or chocolate, or Facebook or television in an unending flow? Is that what these 40 days (plus Sundays) is about? Or will you like Jesus ( whose example you claim to be following) come out of the wilderness a changed and focused person? A radical perhaps?
If you are changed it won't be because of a lack of caffeine, or sugar or mindless filling of your head with stuff, it will be because during these 40 days (plus Sundays) you let God fill that space, and you let God mold you into a different person.
So now, throw away that count down calendar to the end of Lent and see this 40 days (plus Sundays) not as a religious gap in your "normal life" but as the first day of the rest of your life...in Christ.
Peace my Friends!
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