.jpg?width=80&height=80&name=staff_Headshots-(3%20of%2013).jpg)
Repentance is not limited to a season.
Typically, Lent (which begins tomorrow) is a season of repentance and renewal, a time for turning away from sin and focusing on Christ. Many take this time to give something up or deny themselves certain comforts. Some even see it as a season of personal suffering, a way to walk alongside Christ on the march to the cross.
But let’s be clear—Lent is not a countdown to the return of hope and confidence, certainty and peace, light and joy in Jesus. It is not about longing for a return to chocolate, caffeine, sugar, carbs, or whatever earthly thing has been set aside for these forty days. More importantly, this is not a season of suspended knowledge. We know the ending! And because we do, Lent is not our turn to suffer for our guilt. It is our confession that Jesus suffered once for all—period. The end.
Just as Easter is a great celebration of Christ’s victory, and every Sunday is, in many ways, a little Easter, so too, Lent is just another forty days. It is not a high holy season of sacrifice and self-loathing. The entire Christian life is one of repentance and faith, as testified by the prophets, apostles, and reformers. If that is the case, why has Lent so often been marked by somberness and gloom?
Lent is Not About Your Shame—It is About Christ’s
Lent is not about us being shamed. The one who bore shame was Christ. "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" (Gal. 3:13). Crucifixion was such a horrifying punishment that, in Roman times, even the names of the crucified were often erased from memory. Yet the Lord Jesus, in his death, takes your shame and removes it. He was shamed by the Father in your place, bearing sin and death itself.
The Cross Was No Accident
Jesus’ death was not accidental but sacrificial. He died to atone for sin—your sin, all sin, the sin of the whole world. He stood in your place, as though He were guilty of every transgression. Though he knew no sin, he became sin for you so that you might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). He did this to appease God’s wrath toward sin. And remember, God is not a hothead. His wrath is not irrational intolerance, nor is it overbearing or pietistic zeal. It is holy justice.
God is holy, and nothing unholy can stand before him. Therefore, the Holy One of God became the Holy Offering to God. Jesus took upon himself your unholy words, thoughts, and actions, so that he might grant you his holiness in return.
The Cross Was No Plan B
Jesus’ death was not accidental but intentional. He willingly laid down his life. It was the will of the Father, fulfilled by the Son. The cross was not Plan B, nor a contingency in case all else failed. It was his mission from the beginning. His entire life and ministry were oriented toward this purpose. He resolutely set his face toward Jerusalem and Calvary (Luke 9:51), for there, at the cross, he would draw all people to himself (John 12:32).
At the cross, death was swallowed up by life. In that sacrificial and intentional moment, the way to heaven was opened. And three days later, when he rose from the dead, life—his life, your life, eternal life—was secured forever.
Repentance is More Than a Season
Jesus’ resurrection is not merely a historical fact—it is a personal reality. Because he lives, you live (John 14:19). Therefore, repentance is not limited to a season. The entire Christian life is one of turning away from sin and turning back to God. Repentance is the recognition that his life was given because of your sin—that by your own doing, you had lost him as the foundation and center of your life. Yet by his mercy, he restores what was lost and makes you new.
Job’s Confession: A Lenten Proclamation
This brings us to Job, whose suffering was beyond comprehension. He lost everything—his health, his wealth, and his family. Yet, in the midst of despair, Job made one of the clearest confessions of faith in all of Scripture:
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)
This is the heart of Lent. Not our loss, but his life. Not our suffering, but his victory. Even in ashes and dust, Job proclaimed what every Christian confesses: Christ is our Redeemer, and he lives.
Lent, then, is not centered in us but in him. It is just another forty days—but in these days, we are reminded of the truth that shapes all of life:
Jesus lives for you.
Jesus lives in you.
Jesus lives through you.
This is Lent, and this is life—the daily dying and rising, the rhythm of repentance and faith, the certainty that our Redeemer lives.
