“While I am asking God how I should observe an upcoming Lenten season, I may remember where I spiritually was during Lent the previous year and reflect on what has changed and what has stayed the same.” ~ Charlotte Donlon
Do we want to be exactly the same at Easter as we were on Ash Wednesday? No! We should want to be better, more holy, and in a deeper relationship with God. Our goal is not to remain the same throughout our lives. Our goal is to improve. That is why, at the beginning of Lent, we often ask ourselves who we were and what we were like the year before.
If we determine that we are exactly the same as the year before or, God forbid, worse than the year before, we’ve got a lot of work to do. Lent gives us the opportunity to look at ourselves, make a plan, and get the work accomplished. Of course, when we plan our Lent, we need to keep in the back of our minds that the work we began should not finish at Easter. Lent may finish at that time but our work needs to continue into the future.
Every day we should be a little more holy. Every day we should be a little closer to God. Every day we should be a little more like Jesus. That is, after all, the goal of a Christian. We want our lives to be so lived that when a person encounters us, they encounter not us but the Lord. If we can pattern our lives more after Jesus day by day, we will be successful.
FAITH ACTION: Map out any change that you may still need to make during this Lenten season and then make a plan to effect that change.