Lent A 40 Day Season of Sacrificial Love

Lent is a 40-day period before Easter set aside as a season of soul-searching and repentance. The Forty Days of Lent (six weeks before Easter, not counting Sundays) reflect Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for his own time of spiritual reflection. Sundays, because they commemorate the Resurrection, are traditionally not counted. Early Christians first celebrated Lent for 40 hours to commemorate Christ's time in the tomb. About 800 A.D., the Lenten season was expanded to 40 days.

The number 40 is meaningful:

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and Christ was
tempted in the desert by the devil for 40 days when He began His ministry.

Forty days is close to a tenth of the year, a tithe of our year to the
Lord to meditate on His deep love and sacrifice for us.

Early Christians were baptized on Easter Sunday and used the 40 days of
Lent as a time of preparation and study.

Like the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, we too are
sojourners on our way to heaven. Lent offers us a special time to sincerely repent of our sin, humble ourselves before God and ask Him to transform us more into the likeness of His Son. We are preparing ourselves for the joyous celebration of Easter, Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. We want to walk with Christ on His way to the cross, and learn about sacrificial love from Him.

In the early church, Lent was a special time when new converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism on Easter. Churches, which follow a liturgical calendar -- annually reliving the major events in Jesus' life -- place great emphasis on Lent. Whether your church makes much or little of these forty days, your family will benefit from preparing in advance to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.