Shrove Tuesday

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:16, 17 NIV)

For those of us who observe Lent, Shrove Tuesday is an interesting sort of day.  It is like the day before the start of a strict diet.  We might overindulge in whatever it is we are going to give up for Lent.  And I guesss Lent is very much like a diet... it is a fasting.

But I like to look at Shrove Tuesday just a little differently.  I feel like it is a celebration of our freedom in Christ.  It is a culmination of all the days since last Easter of understanding that we are not under the law just before we go into a period of remembering the Law.

Unlike someone who is indulging before a diet, we do not break every law we can think of on Shrove Tuesday.  (Well ok, maybe in New Orleans they do!)  But we feel a greater sense of freedom as we think about what we will give up or take on for our Lenten Fast.

Feel free today.  Take that last bite of chocolate... spend an hour on Facebook... watch T.V. or play your vido games all night.  Know that God loves you anyway.  And also know that even if you fail in your Lenten fast, you win... because God loves you anyway.  We are free in Christ.

Lord Jesus,
You have set us free and we are free indeed.  Help us to be mindful of our freedom and to use it as a tool to serve others.  Amen.

Joys:  feedom; an evening with Daniel and Tracy; Lent

***Last year I set up a Daily Lenten Challenge.  If you signed up for the emails from the blog page last year, I am pretty sure you will get them automatically this year.  If you didn't sign up, you can do so at http://lentendailychallenge.blogspot.com/
I will also try to post them daily on the Holy Cross FaceBook page.