We have reached the halfway point of Lent. Today marks the 20th day of our 40-day liturgical pilgrimage to the Cross and Empty Tomb of Jesus. (Remember the 40 days of Lent do not include Sundays!) It is not too late enter more fully into Lent if you have not yet done so.
There are many benefits to an intentional practice of Lent. We do not have space to list them all here, but one benefit is the testing and training of spiritual “muscles.” Lent is something of a practice field, and when I fast from food or decide to give up something during Lent, I create for myself a program of “resistance” training.
The church has traditionally set aside all Wednesdays and Fridays to serve especially as days of fasting. But there are many different ways to keep the Lenten Fast and different things I might choose to go without during this season. Hunger pangs or urges to consume or experience whatever I have given up are key to the training.
The idea is that as I practice resisting those things I have made “unlawful” for myself during Lent, I am exercising my will to resist those things that are truly unlawful; that is, sins, such as gossip, complaining, critical tongues, divisiveness, worry, anxiety, pride, sexual impurity, ungratefulness, discontent, stinginess, lying, idolatry, impatience, irritability, selfishness, envy, vain use of the Lord’s Name, unbelief, laziness, drunkenness, self-righteousness, passivity . . . and the list of daily temptation to sin goes on.
(Just a reminder: we do not give up such practices or behaviors for Lent. Sin must be repented of and given up completely.)
Of course, success in fasting or giving up something during Lent does not automatically translate into spiritual resistance against temptation to sin. What it should do, however, is shine a spotlight on what struggle with temptation ought to feel like.
When I feel hunger pangs, I typically satisfy the desire for food by eating. But on a fast day, as I experience the discomfort of hunger pangs throughout the day I must combat the desire to eat. It can be a genuine struggle! But this struggle on the practice field is precisely what my struggle against sin should be in real life. Too often, however, my willpower in resisting temptation to sin is so weak as to be practically non-existent.
How often do I satisfy a temptation and immediately fall into sin without a fight? I deceive myself if I speak of a”struggle” with a particular sin when in reality I do not struggle or resist at all, or when I justify my reasons for behaving a certain way.
We don’t get merit points for a struggle that ends in defeat. But consider those sins in your life that are recurring–those sins you habitually fall into. Or review the list above and consider whether any of these might manifest themselves in you. What would resisting temptation to this sin look and feel like? What discomfort will you experience by not satisfying your natural and habitual inclination to engage in that behavior? Can you identify the underlying craving that your yielding to temptation is attempting to satisfy? Do you understand that yielding to this sin is to choose death over life? How great is your struggle against it?
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews observes this: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4) Let that sink in for a moment. And then remember this: Jesus DID shed His blood in His struggle against sin–YOUR sin!
The practice of the Lenten disciplines must always exercised in the shadow of the Cross and the light of the Empty Tomb. Only the Cross of Jesus is able to break the bondage and power of sin by removing its guilt through forgiveness given to those who believe.
The Cross is our example of the extreme to which our struggle must go against sin. We must be willing to die to self if we would live forever with the Lord. But, praise God, the Cross is not just our example but also our salvation, for through the death of Christ our sins are washed away, and we are set free to live in victory over sin and death!