Ready for Easter?

March 27, 2023

Lent is the 40-day period before Easter (not counting Sundays) during which we prepare our hearts for Easter. We want to reach that greatest Christian holiday in deep appreciation for Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. Lent begins each year on Ash Wednesday, this year back on February 22.

Lent needs to be longer.

How do we prepare for Easter? Some choose to fast a day each week. I understand, it’s a small sacrifice compared to what Jesus did. Still, it’s significant enough to remind us. Some fast from a particular favorite food. Others give a sacrifice of time (our most valuable quantity?) by committing to spend more time reading the Bible or in prayer during Lent.

The basic idea is to repent. Repentance is not necessarily accompanied by buckets of tears, but always indicates a willful act of turning completely toward God. For some, repentance is a 180-degree turn, for others it may be less. Repentance is how we prepare our hearts for Easter. John the Baptist and Jesus both preached that message: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

Forty days is not long enough! To really appreciate Easter and what Jesus bought for us, we can’t just change for forty days! God became human, lived amongst us, and took on all our sins to make a one-time sacrifice for all, dying by gruesome and painful crucifixion. We need permanent change.

What can I give up that would show I’ll be forever grateful? It needs to be things like revenge, anger, and other hurtful attitudes. Maybe a good thing to give up would be excuses for not attending worship. I could make extra Bible reading or prayer permanent, not just a 40-day effort.

Better yet, let God change whatever needs to be changed in me.

“But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.” John 3:21