I did not grow up in a household where giving something up for Lent was a custom. When I was a little older, there seemed to be a trend where it became more popular. Perhaps that is simply my perception. For a period, one of the more popular trends seemed to be giving up something you love like chocolate. And then there seemed to be a trend of sermons that taught us why giving up chocolate wasn’t exactly what the sacrifice of Christ was really about. Or that might just be my perception. It does seem to me that whether we give something up or take up a new habit it should be something that focuses us on why we are doing it.

As we spend the season of Lent contemplating the magnitude of the sacrifice we have benefited from, what should we give up? Should we give up an indulgence? Something we love more than the lessons of the Gospel? Here is a list of possibilities: guilt, being alone, being defensive, control, hate, bitterness, blaming others or one’s self.

Feelings of guilt, control, and blame pull us away from God. They ignore the gift of grace that was given to us. We did nothing to earn it. We can’t buy it. It is impossible to deserve it.

But we just might be pretty good at ignoring the grace and blessing that are the eternal gift.

Perhaps our most profound idolatry is to ignore the gift of grace and wallow in our own self image. Our image might be one of over confidence or one of self doubt, but we seem to continue to feel the need to be the center of our story.

During this season of Lent, let us set aside the need go it alone and accept that God is resting in us if only we will rest in God. The more we allow the sacrifice of Jesus and the forgiveness of the resurrection to rest in our heart the more the love that is God rests in our hearts, minds, souls, and therefore our words and actions.

Lord, let us bury our self-centered thinking at the foot of the cross and accept the gift of forgiveness of our sins.

Let us give up our blindness, our inaction, and our doubts.

Let us embrace becoming the righteousness of God.

Amen.

This devotion was written by Jill Pope and read by Sally Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.