What is Lent, and what might it look like for less liturgical churches to participate?

Asked how his faith and comedy overlap, Stephen Colbert talked about love, sacrifice, and how death is not defeat. As a comedian, I love this approach to humor, and think it’s a great starting point for any Christian trying to navigate their field.

But we are involved in the story of God. We have a role to play because the Creator God has invited us to take up our part in his drama. This is where the third lens, a missional lens, comes into the hermeneutical process. The Bible is not simply pointing us to who Jesus is, but also to what Jesus came to do. The Scriptures are all about both the identity and mission of Jesus.

Surely, Jesus meant it when He said the weary find rest in Him. There must be something to Him saying, “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” It can’t be that we’re meant to do Kingdom work feeling endlessly empty and continually anxious.

Paul compares discipleship to the hard work of farming and encourages us to persevere and trust the sovereignty of God.

“Family” is hard. But if we look at the images God uses for His people in the New Testament, we see that He refers to the Church as His body, as a temple or spiritual structure in which God the Spirit dwells, and as a field. But by far the overarching metaphor for the Church is one of family.

In fact, it is impossible to fulfill many of the Bible’s commands outside of deep relationship and shared life with other followers of Jesus. We are designed to be dependent on God and others. We need help reclaiming the depth of that dependence.

Above all, life in the family of God is a daily act of worship. So let’s find a group of folks to go with us, and let’s pray for the Spirit’s help in difficult steps on this journey.