Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4
Many blessing to you as we enter into the Lenten season.
Here at First Presbyterian Church, we have begun Lent without doing anything special. Some churches have held pancake dinners for Shrove Tuesday, and others will have had Ash Wednesday services. Though we may be tempted to simply enter into the season without giving it too much thought or weight, I am writing this letter in hopes that we would all take a moment to wonder.
It is very easy for us to lose our sense of wonder before God. We may find ourselves going through the motions of our everyday and not giving ourselves the opportunity to really seek after what God has been doing in our lives.
The season of Lent, in my mind, is one where we ought to strive to be more attentive to Christ. Not only should it be a season in which we allow the truth of the Gospel to sink in more deeply as we pray and read the Word, but also a season where we ought to “[s]et our minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
For many of us, we will be giving up (fasting) something for Lent. Whether it be a food or a form of entertainment, it is a symbol of our desire to honour Christ. We do so in order to be reminded of how Christ fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before the beginning of His ministry. It echoes the 40 days Moses spent on the mountain waiting for the Law of God to be given to him, and the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness. However, some of us may feel the need to do more rather than less: more prayer, more reading of Scripture, more meditation, more journaling, more silence, more rest, more love, more patience.
However it is you choose to intentionally spend these next 40 days with the Lord, I pray that it rekindles a sense of wonder before God and the work that He had completed through Christ on the Cross. As we look towards the gruesomely beautiful Cross (Good Friday) and anticipate the glorious Resurrection (Easter Sunday), may every day be filled with wonder. May the things that have lost their meaning become wonderful again. May our worship bring us wonder. May the most mundane moments of our lives overflow with the wonder of all that is God.
During this Lent season, may our hearts, our eyes, our minds and our spirits be evermore present and set on the things of God.
Rev. William Min