Giving up!

I know I have been silent for a couple of days, but despite the title I am not giving up. I have however been reflecting on the fact that it seems easier to give something up than it is to take something up. This Lent I was meant to be taking up blogging, however the gap between these posts shows how well that has worked. So why?

As I thought about it I realised that giving something up required a conscious decision only when the temptation arose. It would be easy, for example, to give up mince pies and Christmas cake for Lent. On the other hand, taking something up requires a complete change, you have to force yourself to remember something each day and make time for that thing.

My reflections then took me to the fact that Christ took up the cross. If I am to reflect on the difficulty I am finding in taking up blogging, that is nothing compared to the pain suffered by Christ on the cross. On the sliding scale of Lent sacrifice, the cross has to be at the top. And yet is that not what we are called to do?

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Mark 8:34

So perhaps lent is not just about focusing our mind, but about preparing us for something much more challenging. I seem to be struggling to take up the daily blog, and yet I have to take up a cross. More work to do I think!