Ash Wednesday
On Ash Wednesday we begin a journey to the cross.
Not because we deserve it. Not because we’ve earned it.
Because we’re invited.
God’s astounding grace calls to us in the midst of our brokenness and says, “Come.”
The season of Lent is not a time of self-improvement or habit-crushing. It’s not a time when we try to “do better” and somehow inch a bit more towards perfection. Lent is a season of brutal honesty about the state of our souls. It’s a journey to the cross of Christ, where all pretense and posturing fail. Lent is a time when we acknowledge our deepest, most profound need: forgiveness. We are fallen, broken people who need a Savior, and during Lent we embrace the invitation to repentance.
What a beautiful truth it is that God does not expect us to “clean up our act” before coming to him. He is already aware of what we need. He knows what burdens us, what binds us, what imprisons us. The freedom we so desperately seek is available to us if we will simply acknowledge the truths about ourselves he already knows completely.
Come, ye weary, heavy laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry till you're better
You will never come at all
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) As Lent begins, what are ways you can mark the beginning of this journey? Is there a meaningful way you can visually or devotionally remind yourself of this daily invitation to “true belief and true repentance?”
2) Read this lesser-known verse from this hymn and spend some time reflecting on its meaning for you:
Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requires
Is to feel your need of Him.
3) Some feel that the focus of Lent is too “negative,” choosing instead to fast-forward to the empty tomb of Easter, or to ignore Lent completely. Do you sense any resistance within yourself to an honest journey of self-reflection? What might be at the root of any resistance you feel?
4) John Wesley called repentance “convincing grace.” How do you understand the link between repentance and God’s grace? How does acknowledging this link transform our journey to the cross?
5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”—1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)