Well la-ti-da my 35-minute commute became two hours when I was caught in a snowstorm on Ash Wednesday. Between podcasts I thought about how I was missing the Pastor Husband’s Lenten sermon, and all I kept coming back to was this: Didn’t I just give up something, like, just a month ago? #resolutionfails
And as I thought about how denying ourselves should be at the very least, memorable, and ideally sanctifying and cleansing, I figured I should give up something for realsies this time. Enter Malachi 1.
Here is what the Lord revealed to me as I seek to find something to give up for Lent.
My friends, if you’ve been spending a lot of time in the pews lately but think maybe something is missing, or if you want to be all-in but don’t know what it looks like, the ancient words of Malachi 1 are for you.
Here’s a very rough summary of Malachi 1.
God asks His people why they are bringing Him sacrifices that essentially cost them nothing (defiled food (1:7) and blind, diseased animals (1:8)), things that no one would want anyway and required no real sacrifice at all.
The modern-day equivalent is giving so little to God that our giving is still convenient. It’s giving our best away before we give anything to God.
Yes, it’s important to give something up this Lent, but I think Jesus may be asking for us to give something over.
He wants me to give over my heart. That’s what it means to be all in. I can’t just give up something once out of obligation, but I need to actively give Him my heart over and over. But what does that mean? What on earth does that even look like?
Thousands of years ago and today God wants us to bring something to Him that will reveal our heart posture to Him. He wants to be the priority with what we hold most precious. In a practical way, God was serious when He said, “If you love me, take care of my sheep.”
So what if for Lent we committed to taking care of His sheep and doing good for others? To honestly loving His sheep and asking Him to break our hearts for what breaks His. What if we did this to the point of inconvenience? So that people would see us and know how much we love the Lord, because they know how much we love His people.
God so loves you. He’s so enamored with you and is so proud of His creation. His angels rejoiced the day your heart found Him. And if maybe your heart hasn’t found Him yet, I pray you feel His relentless pursuit. When things are lonely and unfair, terrifying and confusing, or so compelling and joy-filled, He’s pursuing you.
And He knows the posture of our heart because He created it. When we bring Him the crippled animal or the rotting food, He looks at us and asks,
“Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” (1:9)
This Lenten season, may I give up my heart for the One who created it. And in doing so, may I notice. May I notice His poor, notice His lost, notice His lonely. Notice His old, His young, His wandering, His led-astray, His doubt-filled and down-trodden. May we notice and move. Because love that has no action is no love at all.
And as we look ahead 40 days from Ash Wednesday (plus six Sundays), may our hearts be prepared for the God of the universe who wanted to be with us so badly that He left His glory for our mess. May we desire to be with Him so much that we are moved to love His people so inconveniently this Lenten season.
Photo Credit: Cassi Werner
Questions to consider:
How is the Lord calling me to love inconveniently? Who has He put in front of me? What has He entrusted me with only to see that it gets in someone else’s hands?
So what am I giving up?
First, I gave up 40 items of clothing. Stay tuned, my loves. As I tossed clothes in the pile it stung a little, I’ll be honest. But then I looked at what I had left, and that stung even more. Oh how this refining is completely brutiful.
What about you? Leave a comment and let us know what you are giving up for Lent.