Lent begins next week, and it is a beautiful opportunity to focus on your relationship with the Lord and grow in your faith. But sometimes it can seem as though we are just floating through Lent, aimlessly wandering through the season because we don’t even know how to focus on the Lord. Where do we start?
Fr. Andrew Wisdom recently stopped by Morning Air® to share about his new book Growing in Friendship with God: Discovering the Joy of Lent and how we can make this Lent a truly transformative time.
“It really is about deepening our love affair with the Lord,” Fr. Andrew said. “And if we’re not all in love, what are we doing here? Isn’t that what it’s all about? I like to think of all human history as a love affair between God and humanity, between Creator and creature. And if we really got that, we’d all get out of bed a little sooner and a little faster in the morning.”
Fr. Andrew recognized that though many have a desire to deepen their love of the Lord, they might not know how to go about doing it. His new book was written to give people an opportunity to grow closer to Jesus in mind, body, and spirit.
“I think people get to Lent and they really want to grow in their friendship with the Lord, but they don’t know where to begin,” he said. “So this offers somebody the opportunity each day during Lent to have a reflection on what the readings are about, a prayerful meditation on it, and then an action step.”
The action step is something that Fr. Andrew emphasized because while it is important to know your faith, it is also important to live it.
“Our faith is a contact sport,” he said. “It’s getting out of the stands, no more spectating, but getting on the court of your spiritual life and allowing God to make something happen through you. God, in a wonderful way, wants our participation. He’s very respectful of our freedom, but if we tell Him we want to be involved, engaged, and grow in that friendship? He says, ‘Great, let’s get to work. Let’s roll up our sleeves.'”
Our relationship with the Lord is similar to any meaningful relationship – it requires vulnerability and openness. But often we like to keep Christ at arm’s length, and not let Him into certain aspects of our life.
“I hope you identify what things are getting in the way of your friendship,” Fr. Andrew said. “What are those things that are consistently in the way? Identify patterns. Recognize that’s where I did something, that’s where I closed the door to the Lord, or that’s where I said, ‘OK Lord, come this far, but don’t go in that door. I’m too embarrassed.'”
And the secret to finding joy this Lent? It has less to do with giving up chocolate, and more to do with developing a romance with the Lord. Fr. Andrew encouraged listeners by saying, “Have the courage and strength to open the door and trust in the Lord’s goodness. To know His love is there, His outstretched hand is here.”
Listen to the full conversation below:
Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 6:00 – 9:00 a.m. Eastern/3:00 – 6:00 a.m. Pacific on Relevant Radio®.
