Reflection V: Intro to Lent

Hello, everyone! If you're like me, you may be thinking: Wait...Lent? But it's only February! However, yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season.

Lent is essentially a season of anticipating and preparing for Easter. In Western churches, it's six and a half weeks long (from Ash Wednesday to Easter), and many Christians fast during this period (britannica.com). Some denominations place more of an emphasis on Lent than others. Regardless of our church backgrounds, though, I think it's beneficial for all of us to spend time preparing our hearts for Easter.

Over the course of the next several weeks, I plan to share Scriptures, poems, reflections, and other art that directly or indirectly relates to Lent. As I was thinking and praying about how to kick off our journey, I felt that the beginning of God's redemption Story would be a fitting place to start...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

- John 1:1-5 (New International Version)

I'd also encourage you to read all of Genesis 3. This is the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and being banished from Eden. Most of us have read this passage countless times. It can feel stale at best, bizarre and improbable at worst. However, it is laden with significance, particularly because it is part of a Greater Story. I want to highlight verses 14-15 (NIV):

"So the Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this,

'Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.' "

I put this last part in bold because, as some of you may know, many scholars believe it foreshadows Christ's victory over Satan. Jesus - the offspring of a woman - was struck and beaten. Yet He crushed the devil through His death and resurrection, winning "the ultimate victory on behalf of humanity," (www.bibleref.com/Genesis/3/Genesis-3-15.html).

I hope I haven't put you to sleep by this point! I'm certainly no Bible scholar. However, I believe this stuff can be powerful, because it makes us realize that the Story we're a part of is much richer and more interconnected than we might think.

More than anything, I pray that you will sense His Love for you in tender, tangible new ways during this Lenten season. The Father will do anything to draw us closer to Himself, and this is evident throughout the narrative of Scripture.

Blessings, friends! Praying you have a wonderful week.