The season of Lent is my favourite part of the church calendar. This is because it culminates in the death and resurrection of my beloved Lord and Saviour, the crux of the Christian faith.

The word “Lent” is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “spring” and, in the Northern Hemisphere, the period of Lent occurs during Spring.

It is a 40-day period that starts on Ash Wednesday and runs up to the eve of Easter Sunday. Since the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated on a Sunday, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent.

The significance of 40

The number 40 is connected with many biblical events.

Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai when receiving the Law from God (Exodus 24:18). The prophet Elijah travelled 40 days and 40 nights to Mount Sinai to encounter God (1 Kings 19:8).

Most importantly, Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), facing the temptations that could lead Him to abandon His mission and calling. But of course, He didn’t!

Why Lent?

The Church sets aside this season in her calendar to deliberately remember, proclaim and respond to the atoning death of Christ.

It’s not that we don’t think about Christ’s death in other parts of the year. Rather, it is during this season that we deliberately yearn to have a heightened awareness of what Christ Jesus has done for us on the cross.

Jesus’ example of self-denial

One way to remember, proclaim and respond to the atoning death of Christ is to practise the spiritual discipline of self-denial.

Jesus told His disciples: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

Jesus has set for us the example of what it means to deny oneself. He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself (Philippians 2:6) – confining Himself in the body of a human being so that He could walk the dusty streets of Palestine, live a perfect life and show us the way back to God.

He literally carried the cruel cross upon which He was nailed, thereby not just showing us the way but being the way Himself, the only way through which we can be reconciled with God.

“No” to self 

To follow Jesus, we have to say “no” to self. 

It means to strongly reject the egoistic self, the false self, the fallen self, the self that loves sin.

In other words, it is to turn away from the idolatrous self.

We may think that denying self is a really painful thing to do but it actually leads to joy.

Wrote Jonathan Edwards: “Self-denial destroys the very root and foundation of sorrow.”

All the world’s sorrow, grief and trouble find their beginning in our first parents’ choice of self over God. Many of our own sorrows also grow from our choice of self over God.

Fasting as self-denial

In the name of self-denial, many engage in the spiritual discipline of fasting.

Noted Lynne Baab: “Christian fasting is the voluntary denial of something for a specific period of time and for a spiritual purpose.” 

Fasting can involve abstaining from food. When Jesus was tempted after having fasted for 40 days and nights, He responded to the devil: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

Fasting can also include abstinence from the other pleasures of life.

Not that they are necessarily bad per se, but staying away from them for a designated period of time can serve to loosen the hold of our unhealthy appetites over us.

In so doing, we can resist these subtle idolatries and heighten our sensitivity towards the work of the Spirit in our lives.

Those who are addicted to various things including eating desserts and sweets, drinking alcoholic beverages, consuming caffeine, using social media, playing computer games, watching Netflix, shopping online and on-site, and acquiring the latest gadgets and brands can take this season to tear themselves away from such trappings and instead spend that time to commune with God through prayer and the reading of His Word.

Reining in the mind as self-denial

We can also say “no” to self in the areas of thought, word and deed.

Our minds can be a fertile ground for breeding impure thoughts of all kinds – lust, anger, prejudice, self-pity, pride, greed and jealousy.

Martin Luther said: “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

When unwholesome thoughts appear in our minds, we can say “no” to self.

One practical way is to say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

By repeating this prayer aloud or in our hearts, calling on the powerful name of Jesus, we resist the temptation to dwell further on those thoughts.

Let our speech be always gracious and whenever we are tempted to gossip, malign, slander, lie, swear, use foul language, hurl abusive words, engage in obscene conversations, pass unkind remarks or anything that has the danger of tearing someone down, we say “no” to self.

We ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to exercise self-control, and to set a guard over our mouths and keep watch over the door of our lips so that we speak only what is edifying. 

Giving up rights as self-denial

The selfish self is very big on protecting its own rights. 

Let us be willing to give up our rights for the sake of those who are weaker in the faith.

Let us learn to put the interests of others above self.

This may mean dressing in a modest manner so that we become less of a distraction to others when we come to church, flowing with another person’s way of doing things rather than insisting on our own ways as we serve alongside each other, saying “no” to our egoistic self so that we don’t need to have the last word in every conversation.

It is impossible to carry both the cross and self at the same time.

We have to carry one and reject the other. Are we therefore denying self and carrying the cross or are we taking up the self and rejecting the cross? We cannot serve two masters.

In light of the atoning death of Christ, how would we choose? What should our response be in this season of Lent?

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