“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:34-35

Today is Ash Wednesday and this year it happens to fall on Valentines Day. We celebrate love and relationship on Valentines Day while Ash Wednesday celebrates the beginning of lent which follows the journey of Jesus to the cross while calling for us to follow in repentance. These two occasions of Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday might to some seem unrelated, but it is always helpful for me to remember that love is the central theme of both events.

In this season of lent introduced by Ash Wednesday we are invited to turn and follow Jesus in a self-denying, sacrificial way of living. It is the way of discipleship and it is the way of Jesus. In a supreme act of love, Jesus, as the apostle Paul writes, “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant” (Philippians 2:7). Motivated by love, God sent His own Son to provide the means for our rescue from our brokenness, destruction and death. Motivated by love Jesus set aside the comforts, glories and entitlements of heaven to embrace our humanity, become servant of all and provide for our salvation with His own life. It is in some ways the perfect Valentine. Yet unlike a card that is shoved in a drawer after being read or flowers that eventually wilt and fade, what Jesus offers us is a love that manifests and reveals the power of eternity and the power of God to renew and sustain. For the sake of love Jesus gave up His life so that we might receive the life of His eternal kingdom. It is love expressed through sacrifice and self-giving.

In the observance of the Lenten season we are encouraged to follow Jesus in the way of sacrifice and self-giving. We are invited to let go of one kind of life to receive and experience a better, eternal kind of life. In this season we have the opportunity of pausing from the normal ways we engage in this earthly life and creating space, by the very act of letting go, for the larger more satisfying life of Jesus to fill us. The Lenten practice of giving up something for the season can become an opportunity to experience the gift of God’s presence in a new way. Lent calls us into places of self-denial for the purpose of transformation into the life and way of Jesus marked by His own self-denial and sacrifice. This identification with Jesus in the way of self-denial and suffering is central to our transformation. Practices of fasting, prayer, charity, simplicity and service all are ways to further experience this season of God’s transforming work. These kinds of practices focus our attention on Jesus and His way, keeping Jesus, His work and His way, central to our lives.

I want to encourage you to walk with Jesus through this Lenten season and allow His Spirit and His way to be transformative. Possibly there is something you might set aside for this time as a way of walking with Jesus in His own self-denial. Possibly there is a spiritual practice you might take up to keep you more intently focused and centered on Him (such as a daily prayer of examine, saying the Jesus Prayer, Scripture meditation, etc.) There are many things we might fast from, or set aside for a time, besides food (such as television, technology, other media and entertainment, hobbies, etc.). The space created by the fast offers the opportunity to further enjoy the presence of Jesus. In Lent we set aside something to better focus on, and attend to, something, or more importantly, someone else, the person of Jesus.

Let this time of Lent provide occasion and space to further discover the great love and mercy Jesus has shown you through His sacrificial journey to the cross. And as you identify with Him in the places of suffering for the world, may you be further transformed into His likeness. I close with this quote from Teresa of Avila: “Fix your eyes on the crucified and nothing else will be of much importance to you.” Jesus truly is a most unique and amazing Valentine as we celebrate this day and beyond. Here is a song to reflect upon as you continue to follow Jesus in His way.