During season of Lent, give of yourself

Romans 6:1-5 “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
As we embark on this season of Lent, each person and each church looks at this time a little differently. Some churches ask their faithful people to give up something for Lent. Something that is important to them, like pop, or chocolate, or something special that they like to do. The idea is a way to sacrifice of yourself and think about all that Jesus has done for you, to then be thankful for all that they have.
As I think about our country, our coming out of the pandemic, all of the pain and suffering that is going on in the world, I would like us to switch up this tradition just a little bit. I would like to ask that instead of giving up, we give away! Give away your time, your possession, your talent. Give of yourself to someone who needs something. For instance, take someone to the grocery store that needs a ride and help them do this particular task. Make a card for someone who might be in need of encouragement, send them a note and a prayer so that they may be cheered up! Go and visit one of the many shut ins, those in nursing homes, those in the hospital, those who just don’t go out in the cold and the ice.
If God has blessed you financially give a donation to your church, to your favorite charity, or hook up to Lutheran Disaster Response or the Red Cross and send some money on to help out those in Turkey or Syria, or one of the many areas that have had natural disasters lately. This is what it is to be a Christian! To stand up and do for others who cannot do for themselves! This is what it means to be a brother or a sister in Christ, to act and do and love as if you were Christ himself!
At Bethlehem in Hills, we will be going back to the basics, the “Roots of our Faith,” learning the basic all over again, a refresher is what we all need at times. This makes us better understand why we are called to live our lives in community, where we help each other out, not only in the hard times, but also in the good time! May each and everyone of you have a personal experience, a personal relationship building time with God in this season of Lent!