Jump to the love of God

Spring is springing up here in the Pacific Northwest, the plants and trees are blooming. We are fast approaching the Christian celebration of Easter Sunday and, if my Catholic is correct, we should be in Lent right now.

Lent is a Catholic season of soul-searching and repentance. Lent is a time to reflect and take a hard look at what our lives are all about. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Catholic imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the desert for forty days. This would explain the gesture of “Giving something up for Lent”.

I was a Catholic growing up in New York City, back then I was giving something up for Lent which started forty days before Easter Sunday, started on Ash Wednesday (which is another story in itself) I did my best to give I invented something that I really liked, something like RC Cola. It never worked and mainly because he didn’t understand why he was giving something up.

Today I understand it and in a twisted way the symbolic gesture of giving up something we like between the days of the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ seems like a good idea to me since our Heavenly Father gave His only begotten Son for our sins the The least we can do is take a break from Starbucks Lattes or something.

Well, I don’t think I’ll be going back to my Catholic roots any time soon, but I can add a bit of reflection to this season by bringing the Gospel to someone in need. We have a duty to our Lord that since we have been given this wonderful eternal life, we share that love with others.

The most remarkable aspect of Lent is that it actually commemorates the time that Jesus was in the desert. It was at that moment that the temptations occurred and Jesus resisted the confrontation of the Devil. You and I will never be tempted by the Devil; however, we will be tempted by Satan like Eve was in the Garden, but never directly by the Devil like Jesus was. What a tremendous example for us, how much He loved the Father and would always do His will.

So, as the foliage returns to the Pacific Northwest and to your hometown, as spring begins, we have the wonderful privilege of knowing God and His Son Jesus Christ and His matchless Word.