The Only Question

It is puzzling in the extreme that Lent is so focused on releasing a bad habit and that accepting a good habit gets second billing. Trying to not do something is poor psychotherapy. Not only does concentrating on something absent accentuate the longing for it, but under such emphasis, even a small transgression can lead to a feeling of complete failure. So what is it about abstinence that captures the imagination? Perhaps achievements made under divine scrutiny amplify the pride in the accomplishment? Or maybe it is easier to keep trying the same thing, season after season? Or could it be that fall/winter holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve) take a couple of months of effort to undo?

It seems much better to adopt a new practice and celebrate every little success in performing it, drawing attention to the discipline needing to be reinforced. Positive feedback increases the desire to achieve and increases the likelihood of further advances. Good behavior begets better behavior and lasting improvement is built layer by layer. The end result will be a practice that is stronger and that lasts beyond Lent.

But whatever the reason, Lent is associated foremost with personal sacrifice even when it is unspiritual. Now, it is undeniably true that Jesus sacrificed much for us and that we are forever His, from before we were born to long after we die. With someone who is so dedicated to us, it is only natural to look up to His example and to devote ourselves to following Him. And it is also clear that Jesus' admonitions to follow Him more often than not involve something left behind. But Jesus is not putting forth a qualifying test. Jesus does not ask for us to show we deserve to be His disciples. He is not measuring our worthiness to be seen with Him. There is no stopwatch counting split seconds before we mess up again. No, Jesus asks us to clear away only those spaces in our lives that He intends to fill. And he offers to guide us along the way. Even better, he promises to do the heavy lifting, to feed us, to bind our wounds, to lift up our souls and carry them when we cannot.

His only requirement is for us to believe in Him. Jesus, teacher extraordinaire, first gives away the answer: "I am the way and the truth and the life." (John 14:6) And then he asks the only question on the exam: "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?" (John 14:10) That's it, a single true/false question. It is both that simple and that difficult. Our Lenten practices, then, should focus on the only question that matters, how to be stronger in our belief and how to diminish our unbelief.

May God give you the strength to believe in His son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.