Something to Think About for Lent
Lent is upon us, and, rather than spend the rest of my day (and this post) trying to figure out what one thing I should give up for the next 40 days, I thought I'd focus a bit on why to consider giving up anything at all.
John Calvin taught that original sin “seems to be a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls ‘works of the flesh’ (Galatians 5:19)." What he was saying was, if depravity is in us at all, it is all in us throughout:
“The mind of man has been so completely estranged from God’s righteousness that it conceives, desires, and undertakes, only that which is impious, perverted, foul, impure, and infamous. The heart is so steeped in the poison of sin, that it can breathe out nothing but a loathsome stench.”
But just as the depravity of original sin is all in us, “If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it (salvation) is ‘of him’ (1 Cor. 1:30):
gifts of the Spirit in his anointing
strength in his dominion
purity in his conception
gentleness in his birth
empathy in his humanity
redemption in his passion
acquittal in his condemnation
remission of curse in his cross
satisfaction in his sacrifice
purification in his blood
reconciliation in his descent
mortification of the flesh in his tomb
newness of life and immortality in his resurrection
inheritance of the kingdom in his entrance into heaven
protection, security, and supply in his kingdom
and peace in his judgment
“In short,” wrote Calvin,” since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain and from no other…” Calvin’s solution to our sin and depravity was not merely a physical restraining of sin (though there is need and grace for that), but a spiritual transfusion through blood and faith – that is, Christ’s for ours.
In other words (and to apply Calvin's thought to the meaning of today), giving something up for Lent can be good, but giving in to Christ is the goal - certainly of Lent, even more so of life.
Suddenly, the idea of foregoing salt, chocolate, or Coke Zero for the next 40 days just got really, really trite...or really, really meaningful. I can't decide which.