Ash Wednesday ushers in the season of Lent - a 40-day journey to Easter (not counting the Sundays). It is 40 days because our Lord was in the desert for 40 days. The number 40 has a lot of significance in the Bible (The 40 davs and nights of rain during the Flood, the 40 years the Israelites wandered through the desert).
But, it is our Lord's time in the desert which fulfills them all - just as He has fulfilled all of Scripture with His life, death and resurrection.
While our Lord was in the desert, He ate nothing. He fasted. Fasting is a spiritual discipline which some Christians practice and some don't. And, that's ok, because it isn't commanded. It is certainly commended to us as being a good spiritual practice. But, not commanded. This puts it in the category of
"Adiaphora" - like so many things. It is neither commanded nor forbidden.
But, with all that said, I do think it is worthwhile for every Christian (who is physically able to do so) to try fasting as a discipline, at least once in their life. I remember the first time I really tried it. My plan was to just eat breakfast on Wednesdavs and Fridaws. and nothing else the rest of the day. As you can imagine, by about 2 p.m. on that first day, all I could think about was food. But, that told me a lot right there. For one thing, it made me realize how much I take food for granted. I just always assume that I'm going to have a meal to eat. And, so often, I don't give God proper thanks for the food He provides.
But, even more, it got me to thinking about and really appreciating the 40 days of fasting that our Lord went through in the desert. I was in agony after half a day! Our Lord went 40 days! And, it brought to mind the Scripture He quoted, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes ow from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Jesus was in the desert being tempted by the Devil.
After Jesus had gone 40 days without food, the Devil came to Him and said, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Jesus certainly had the power to turn stones into bread. But, lesus knew that it was His Father's will that He was in the desert and without food. And, Jesus believed that this was His Father's good and gracious will. He didn't grumble like the Israelites did.
He didn't think God was holding out on Him like Adam and Eve did. Instead, He knew and believed the truth: that ultimately, true life comes not from bread but from the Word of God. One can have all the bread in the world, and every other creaturely comfort and not be truly alive. To be truly alive is to live by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. To be truly alive and truly fulfilled and happy is to be obedient to the Word of God.
Holy Bible (NIV)
Matthew 6: 1-18.
One of the best ways to try the practice ot tasting is to simply skip one meal on a particular day of the week. And, when we do this, instead of watching TV or something else, it's beneficial to take that time to pray and read God's Word. And then, calculate how much money you saved by skipping that meal - and give it to a local food bank or other organization that helps the needy. That's the way that these three disciplines - prayer, giving to the needy, and fasting - work together. Of course, we must realize that we are not gaining any favor from God by doing these things, nor are we meriting the forgiveness of sins. And, we also must becareful not to broadcast what we are doing (see Matthew 6:1-18).
The motivation for doing this, if we so choose, is out of faith in lesus - who fulfilled the Law perfectly in our place; Whose obedience to the Father is credited to our account by grace alone. He alone has secured our eternal life. And so, everything we do is motivated by our faith in Him and our love for our neighbor. So, whatever you choose to do during Lent, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author and perfector of our faith. He will bless you this Lent and always.
