Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The Habit of Fasting


And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”  John 3:19

       
We are creatures of habit.  Often our habits continue despite our spiritual transformation in Christ.  Yet, that doesn’t put these habits outside of the redeeming work of Christ.  They need to be redeemed, changed, and transformed but only in God’s good time.  Perhaps, when you came to Christ you were not ready or able to handle a change of habit so God let that habit remain.  The light of Jesus hadn’t shown into the deeper recesses of your soul, yet.  But now is the time that God has called you to fast from that habit.  Jesus has shown his light upon it.  God has not asked you to entirely erase it from your life but to fast from it.  Yet, you still love it.  The habit continues to carry with it the darkness from which you were saved.  It still holds sway over you but now you are ready, able, and capable to give it up – even for a short amount of time. 

When we fast, especially through Lent, we discover new habits that can replace the old ones.  If we fast from TV or Netflix, we may discover a new habit!  It could be daily bible readings, prayer, painting, drawing, gardening, or volunteering.  The list is nearly endless.  Fasting gives us opportunity for creativity, most life giving practices do.  People who live in darkness tend to stick to patterns they have always lived in and resort to what’s easiest.  But we are people of the light; people called by God to follow Jesus into his creative kingdom. 

Take some time today to think about what creative ways you can show your love for God.  Pick one of those and begin to plan on adding it to your life today! 
 
 
~ Rev. Matt Seaton

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