Perhaps the world just missed this, but I didn’t… Lent started last week. Lent is 40 days of preperation for Easter. Now, by prepare it has traditionally been "identify with Christ’s suffering." Somehow this got translated over the years to being "in lent I give up something." I think that sell the significance short, but it is on the right track.
Self-denial is good. It doesn’t make God love us any more, but it does help us get the connection better between what we think we can provide for ourselves and depending on God. How do I observe lent?
This year I will be fasting from dinner on Tuesday until dinner on Wednesday. It’s not a big deal, but I have found this to be a good way to seperate the "what I need" from the "what I want." The reality is that we can pretty safely fast for days at a time… we just don’t think we can. I am hardly a fasting expert, but in my own experience this has been a time of intense concentration, preparation, and communication. I am looking forward to fasting through Lent.
Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer by Bill Bright
Protestant Fasting on Wikipedia
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