Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. It is exactly 40 days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Sunday, beginning on Ash Wednesday because of the practice of rubbing ashes on one’s forehead in the sign of a cross.
The purpose is to set aside time
for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life,
death, burial and resurrection.
It is intended to be a time of
self-denial, moderation, fasting, and the forsaking of sinful activities and
habits. Ash Wednesday commences this period of spiritual discipline.
While the Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday, it does
record accounts of people in the Old Testament using dust and ashes as symbols
of repentance and/or mourning (2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel
9:3).
If a Christian decides to observe Ash Wednesday and/or Lent,
it is important to have a biblical perspective.
We must not allow spiritual discipline to become spiritual
pride.
Jesus warned us against making a show of our fasting:
“When you fast, do not look somber as
the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.
I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you
fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious
to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen” (Matthew
6:16-18).
It is a good thing to repent of sinful activities, but
that’s something Christians should do every day, not just during Lent.
It’s a good thing to clearly identify oneself as a Christian, but, again, this
should be an everyday identification.
And
it is good to remember that no ritual can make one’s heart right with God. We are saved by Grace. Any "ritual" one does should be done as an observance or remembrance like The Lord's Supper.
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