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What is Lent Anyways?
As I think about it this year, I’m spending more of my time thinking about the overall intent of the season.
What can be learned during these 40 days that I can take with me into every season which follows?
As I started thinking about this Lenten season, I began with the way my mind works: with word plays and connections.
The word, lent, as used in our current context, refers to something borrowed from someone or somewhere else. It’s something offered to me with the intent I’ll return it. It isn’t considered a present in which the ownership is transferred to me. It isn’t a gift in terms of my becoming the owner of the item, but rather in that a kindness is shared through the shared use of a tool or resource of some sort. The most common illustration which comes to mind is when a friend lends me an object for a particular use. It isn’t mine to keep, but to use, and when finished using, to return in at least as good of shape as I recieved it.
It isn’t a gift in terms of my becoming the owner of the item, but rather in that a kindness is shared through the shared use of a tool or resource of some sort.
I’ve had friends lend me books to read, tools for home projects, money when I was short on cash…
