What are we giving up? - Ginny West Case

Scripture:

15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of theLord your God[a] that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Deuteronomy 30: 15-20

When you mention Lent, most of us begin to think of what we will give up for Lent.  We may even mention offhandedly that we gave up something we really dislike for Lent, like exercise or dieting.

Many of us live our lives everyday giving up things that I believe God wants us to keep.  We often give up trust in folks or faith in the goodness in each human being.  We give up the ability to see the beauty of God’s creation both in individuals and in nature.  We give up joy in the small things and avoid seeing the humor in our daily walk.

One of my favorite movies is Chocolat.  In this movie, the characters in the town are obsessed with giving up the things that bring joy and peace.  The new owner of the chocolate shop encourages them to give up those things that prevent their appreciation of life.  She even sells chocolate during Lent.  The towns people are challenged to see the majesty of God’s creation and open themselves up to the love of God and each other.

At the end of the movie, Pere Henri's (the young priest) in his Easter Sermon says: “I want to talk about Christ’s humanity, I mean how he lived his life on earth: his kindness, his tolerance. We must measure our goodness, not by what we don’t do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist, or who we exclude. Instead, we should measure ourselves by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include.” 

Choose Life!  

Ginny West Case, Adult Ministries at 1st UMC

This is part of a daily devotional series running through the Lenten Season (March 5-April 20th). Please feel free to comment below and share it with your friends and family. 

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