Lent is Because of Love
I hope you’re doing well on this second Wednesday of Lent. Lent is the season where the church traditionally looks back at Jesus’ journey to the cross in the final days of his life, as it looks ahead to his resurrection at Easter. I’m not sure what Central has done historically in regard to Lent, but this year, we’ll be looking at Lent through a different and very particular lens: love.
As I introduced last week, this Sunday we’ll be kicking off a new series called “Known by Love” – looking deeper into the second part of our identity statement (live by faith, known by love, voice of hope). Though not directly about Lent – isn’t Lent actually all about the love of God in Christ? And isn’t that what he wanted us to be known by?
Jesus’ ‘new’ command to us comes in John 13 – where he tells us how we are to be known:
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
It is in this same chapter that Jesus gets down on his hands and knees and washes the disgusting feet of his followers, showing them what love looks like as he “loved them to the end” (13:1). Love is what drove him to his hands and his knees. Love is what drove him to come from heaven to earth. Love is what drove him to the lost and broken and hopeless. Love is what drove him to the cross, even as the nails drove into his hands and feet. Love is what held him there. For you. For me. For the world that God loves.
Lent is because of love.
So this Lent, love.
That’s what we’re going to learn to do in this new series.
I hope that you will join us, and I also hope that in this season of Lent, you might invite someone new to join us.