Giving something up is a traditional practice of the season, but often we do not venture past giving up something like chocolate or wine. Perhaps God wants us to give up something more significant, and more importantly, perhaps God wants us to give up these things in order to make room for something better, more impactful… God’s steadfast love in Jesus Christ. So this Lent, let’s give up hubris for humility and greed for gratefulness. Throughout these 40 days, let’s give it up for Lent so our hearts can grow closer to Christ!
Giving up Seeking the Wrong Shelter for Growth
God’s word for us this week is nutritious and wholesome, though hard to digest. Jesus points out that sin and God’s punishment are not the reason for horrible events. That theology is just another attempt by us to control the uncontrollable. Jesus invites us to hear the fig tree parable as the grace-full story it really is. We are fragile creatures, living in a world of tragedy and terror, but God does not punish fragility with death. On the contrary, God sent Jesus to us so that we may live. Living in that nurtured garden of Christ, tended to and cared for as we grow in that love, how can we keep from growing, blossoming, and bearing fruit?
image: Harvesting figs with fig bowl in foreground by James B. Janknegt. Copyright © James B. Janknegt. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the artist.