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Fasting time is a path

O present, how fast you are,
Future, you are dawn’s light,
Past, you are evening red!
The red of evening should stay forever,
The dawn’s light freshly breathes in,
Then the present is not dead.
Eichendorff

On the path, every day

Past, present and future: These are terms which continually find their way into our lives. You can ask yourself every day: What lies behind me? Where am I standing now? What is in front of me? I go a little step further along life’s path every day. Every day of my life I am walking along a path which started at a certain point and is pointing towards a goal.

When you are a journey, you should always ask yourself: Where did I come from? Where do I want to go? I can only direct myself if I have a goal in front of me which I can determinedly go towards and not run about erratically without a plan. If I transfer this into our daily lives it means: Where do I come from in my life? Where is beginning? Where am I right now? But much more important is: Where do I really want to go? What is my goal in life? What is the sense in my life? What is at the end of life’s path? What is if I see my life as a path? Can’t I starting walking if I do not know where to? Can’t I only decide on a direction when the destination is fixed?

We are always on a journey. We are always on a journey along our personal path in life. Time never stands still. Where am I going to?

Paths accompany us through our lives. We are constantly choosing certain paths and therefore putting together our own personal path. At this moment we are on a certain path, maybe consciously, maybe sub-consciously: Ash Wednesday is the start of lent. We walk along a path towards Easter which takes 40 days: A path which has a fixed goal.

What does fasting mean to us?

What does fasting mean to us? Does it mean leaving out excesses of food? Does it mean practicing doing without something? Does it mean limiting myself? What does lent mean? I have found the following verse in the bible (Luke 15, 18): „ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. “

Lent is a path.

That is fasting. Fasting is a journey. Fasting is way to God, to the Father. Lent is a path with a specific goal: A goal which gives me the opportunity to redirect myself. Lent is a path which I can consciously go along, which I can experience and use to focus on a goal. The target is God. „I will set out and go back to my Father! “ I will set off on my journey and have my goal in sight.

Lent lasts 40 days and ends at Easter. Easter is the end of lent and Easter is the goal of lent. How do they combine with each other? God is the goal at lent and Easter is the goal at lent? What is the connection? What do they have in common? What is the real goal?

God, who died within Jesus Christ on the cross and was resurrected at Easter. God, who stands up for my own sins and who stood up as a resurrected winner at Easter. God, who conquers my sins at Easter. That is the goal at lent. Now there is another question open: How do I get there? How do I reach this goal? Do I simply sit back and wait for the 40 days to be over or do I become active?

„ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. “ There is a recognition and an acknowledge hiding behind. I have sinned. What does this sinning mean? It means that I went my own way. It means that I have averted away from God and I have put myself first. It means that I have followed my own goals without listening to God and what he says. It means that I have gone against others and against God and have gone my own way without any consideration for loss.

That is recognition. The acknowledgement follows recognition: „Father, I have sinned against you! “ That is lent. Lent is a journey of recognition and acknowledgement. Lent is a journey which has Easter as its goal. I am not alone with my sins. God is there and he takes my sins away. God was resurrected at Easter, God, who takes my sins away at the end of this path if I admit to them. God is the one to take away my sins and present me with the gift of freedom.

What is the goal in my life?

Easter is the goal at lent. Lent is journey which is 40 days long, but what is with my life? What is the goal of all of my days? What is my lifetime goal?

Can Easter become the goal of my life? Can God become the goal in my life? God – who dies in Jesus Christ on the cross and is resurrected at Easter. The God who takes my sins away and makes me free. Jesus once said (John 14, 6): „ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “

How does our journey in life connect with God’s path? How does our goal in life connect with God? Do I go my own way or do I take the path to God? Do I allow myself to understand that Easter and that Jesus, the resurrected, is the only way to get to God. Jesus, the resurrected, is the only goal in life which is worth something. What is my life’s goal?

Author: This entry comes from Christopher M.