Anyone in relationship with young adolescent males may have witnessed their modus operandi: spraying is easier than bathing. They prefer a spritz of cologne, or God preserve us all, a dosing with Axe. Deodorant? It's considered optional. We may ask, "Why is hygiene so difficult?" While they rebuff, "No need to go to the trouble of removing clothes and suffering the assault of water, when all you need is a quick spray of something better smelling!" Longer morning sleep, hanging with friends, or perpetual video games at night are so much more appealing. And there you have the rationale for bathing as infrequently as possible.

In some ways, people in the western Church today have a similar approach to spiritual formation. Let's not bother with the inconvenience of peeling off layers of our heart, of working at what needs to be addressed relationally, or facing the discomfort of repentance, let alone engaging in a habit of confessing our sin. We'd rather a smattering of scripture, a quick prayer for blessing now and again, a good splash of worship and an occasional sermon. A podcast will do in a pinch.

We think these practices will suffice, and yet we need much more if we're going to be healthy as followers of Jesus. If we're going to grow and mature in our faith we must attend to our spiritual life with greater intentionality. Adolescent avoidance, with limited or optional engagement in spiritual disciplines, must shift in order to become mature Christians.

This is why Lent is such a gift. The early Church knew this rhythm of letting go, entering into simplicity and humility, and cultivating greater intentional dependence on God in this season to be both gift and grace. Lent became so valuable it was added to the Church calendar and has been passed down from one generation of believers to the next, across cultural and demographic diversity throughout the whole world. And yet many Christians in our stream of the Church don't participate in Lent at all.

I've often wondered why the charismatic Church threw the baby out with the bathwater. Somehow spiritual experience meant we should leave spiritual practice behind. And as a result many people who came to faith during the renewal movement in the late eighties and early nineties haven't been introduced to Lent. So neither have they discipled new Christians into this ancient practice of the Church, which is so healthy for us. To be fair, many simply don't know what Lent is for or how it can help them grow in their faith.

So, what is the wisdom and value of practicing Lent? And how does Ash Wednesday, which starts Lent, help us enter into this important season?

Right off the bat it's important to note Ash Wednesday, as the name denotes, is when Christians "receive the imposition of the ashes" during a simple liturgy. You may have seen people in the grocery store, or at work, or on the bus on Ash Wednesday with a smudgy dark sign of the cross on their forehead or their hand. They've been marked with the ashes. Wearing this sign (often given during an early morning liturgy) is a way of publicly identifying our belonging to Jesus - specifically through his death and resurrection. I have had many wonderful conversations with strangers on Ash Wednesday who have wanted to know more about why I'm "wearing the cross" in this way.

I want to invite you to think for a moment about what the Church has passed on to us. Every Ash Wednesday, I dig some ashes out of my fireplace, and mix them with olive oil. This is how tradition has taught us to prepare for the marking on Ash Wednesday. And every year I'm struck by the ashes as a symbol of death, and the oil as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever stood at a graveside service and heard the words, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust..."? Also part of our historical liturgy of the Church, these words speak to the frailty of human life, a reminder that our lives are in God's hands. He is the Maker who created human life out of dust, and to dust we return. So when we wear the ashes we are acknowledging the frailty of life, the suffering, the longing for the world to be made right. We are like the ash we wear. And yet we also wear the oil, a common biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit. This same Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells within us! (Romans 8:11) He brings resurrection life to us now, and we know He will one day raise all who are dead in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Our wearing of the oil mixed with ash is a way of embodying our eschatological hope! We are physically announcing that Jesus entered all the way into human suffering and gave his life for us. He wore death. And then he overcame it by the power of the Holy Spirit and was resurrected. He is our salvation and our hope. Hallelujah!

Lent is a season for Christians to invite the life of the Holy Spirit to become more pronounced in and through us. We want to be permeated with the resurrection life of Christ. This means learning to die to ourselves in greater ways as we are enlivened by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23)

In the late nineties, David Ruis (our National Director), wrote a great worship song that I think captures the essence of what we remember and celebrate as Christians (Lily of the Valley; Believe - Vineyard Music). More than a song marking an era in the Church, it has staying power because of the theological depth that simply confesses the truths of scripture and the human experience. (An ideal song to add to a Lent playlist). Jesus was broken for us all and we long for more of His life. The refrain "more of you and less of me" is a great daily prayer for the 40 days we're about to embark on through this season. Lent is about letting go in such a way that we make room in our lives for more of God. This is a time to pray, "Come, Holy Spirit" - inviting Him to put to death the acts of our sinful nature and to fill us with the power of His Holy Spirit. To transform us more into the likeness of Jesus.

Most people, if they know anything about Lent, think of it primarily as a time for fasting. From Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday Christians give stuff up - chocolate, alcohol, social media, shopping, Friday lunches - you name it. But it's so important to remember Lent is about invitation, not flagellation. We're not trying to prove something to God and get Him to notice us. Instead we're making space for Him to encounter us. Well known author and legendary Christian leader in the Church, Dallas Willard, famously asked countless churches and Christian organizations, ""What is your discipleship plan for putting to death or mortifying whatever belongs to your earthly nature?"  (Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:5; Romans 16:18) No one ever had an answer for him. They (like us) were just hoping it would somehow happen! We thought we'd become like Jesus without discipline. But of course, to be a disciple requires discipline.

I had the gift of knowing Dallas and having him as a mentor in my early years in ministry. It was from Dallas I first learned about Lent as a beautiful season in the long history of the Church to enrich my discipleship - a time to cultivate my life in the Holy Spirit, to respond to His voice, and to be increasingly transformed into becoming more like Jesus. And like Dallas taught me and many others long ago, our fasting can become feasting as we learn what it means to be sustained by God's presence. We let go (through fasting, repentance, worship) and enter into a deeper life with God.  Lent is a gift. A reset. Let's meaningfully enter this season and together pray, "Come Holy Spirit."