Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your
heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not
your clothing. Joel 2: 12
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| Yad Hasmona Biblical Garden Israel |
"Rend your
heart and not your clothing" seems to get at the very heart of what in
means to keep a "Holy Lent." Lent should never devolve into
just "giving something up." For what is the good of that?
Losing a few pounds? Feeling triumphant that you can temporarily overcome some
addiction? Pleasing a spouse or a parent?
Neither is Lent about focusing on our fallen nature, as many of us have heard it preached before. Lent is about returning to the Lord. It needn't be a public show apologizing for our misbehavior; God already knows all that.
Lent is about our hearts. It is about returning to God and remembering whose we are. When we return our focus to God, there may well be some repentance and fasting, but not always. Sometimes, just the returning is enough. In simply returning, in rending our hearts, we may just find ourselves deeply thankful for God's forgiveness and grace and mercy. And isn't that the point?
Return. Rend your hearts, Re-orient.
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Neither is Lent about focusing on our fallen nature, as many of us have heard it preached before. Lent is about returning to the Lord. It needn't be a public show apologizing for our misbehavior; God already knows all that.
Lent is about our hearts. It is about returning to God and remembering whose we are. When we return our focus to God, there may well be some repentance and fasting, but not always. Sometimes, just the returning is enough. In simply returning, in rending our hearts, we may just find ourselves deeply thankful for God's forgiveness and grace and mercy. And isn't that the point?
Return. Rend your hearts, Re-orient.
+
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