Impervious
- Gary Fritsch
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
Sometimes you just have to know what you are going for. The grocery store makes me think of this. They have built the entire store in such a way as to entice you to look at something you to didn't come for. They put the essentials way at the other end of the store so that you have to walk by so many other tempting non-essentials on the way. Occasionally, before going into the store, I steel my will and swear that I will only get what I came for. That's what Lent is.
Lent, in order to be spiritually meaningful, requires us to know what we are going for. What is important, what is ESSENTIAL in our life. On this front, I love to think about Heaven. Heaven is not just a never-ending church service or prayer session. In Heaven, we will have bodies (good ones, not affected by illness or ravaged by age or the effect of our bad habits), and relationships (imagine the best reunion ever - memories exchanged, laughter, hugs) all bathed in LOVE. Real love. Love that has no agenda, no mistrust, no unhealed wounds. In Heaven, everyone loves perfectly because we will shine with the light of the Savior and King who has loved us perfectly.
This is what we are going for. As we enter Lent, whatever we set aside is completely non-essential in comparison. Instead of being gloomy about fasting, we can think of how paltry this food is in comparison to the heavenly banquet. We have to think of ourselves as 'impervious'. We cannot be disuaded or deterred from our purpose and our goal. Our exercise in Lent only helps us to understand how effectively we can do this in our lives in ways large and small.
When you receive ashes on your forehead, you will these words or similar: "Repent and believe in the Gospel" - and what is the Gospel - the Good News - and what is the Good News - we are made for Heaven, it is the essential part of our life. We should accept no substitutes, deterents or distractions. Think of the cross traced on your forehead as a sign of the impervious nature of your intention for Lent. Imagine it being traced directly on your soul, marking you for one thing and one thing only - Heaven.
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