Written for the Glory of God by Wally Heritage
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Friends, spare a moment of thought for my wife as she has been dealing with my current foray into the art of fermentation, specifically the lacto-fermentation of vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, and sauerkraut. Fermentation is an antique way of preserving food. It requires a salty, oxygen free environment in order for the bacteria of choice (lactobacilli) to do their thing and create the lactic acid which, in turn, prevents harmful bacteria from growing, preserves the food, and increases the food's nutritional value.
It is a combination of two of my favorite things (food and science), and I have been experimenting over the last few months with different vegetables and combinations as attested by the multitude of mason jars in a corner of our kitchen. The aroma of sauerkraut and pungent acidic goodness fills the air; but I guess one man's treasure is another wife's trash!
I bring this up because lacto-fermentation works best in the absence of oxygen. It is only by taking away something that the main event can occur. I feel like this is analogous to Lent with the common practice of taking away something from our everyday life so we can focus on the main event!
The first few days you may not notice any changes. Maybe towards the end of the first week you start to notice a difference, sense a change, become aware of how big of a presence your chosen sacrifice was in your life. As the vegetables start to bubble up with the carbon-dioxide byproduct of the fermentation, so too your desire for what you've fasted may start to bubble up.
After a couple of weeks that churning subsides; you begin to get some momentum and, rather than focusing on what is absent, you start to focus on what is present and what is possible. The initial pangs seem trivial now and you look forward to the goal. The end product is something that could only have been achieved because of the time invested, endurance, and the trials pursued. You didn't get to this end on your own, you had persistent (perhaps, sight-unseen) help along the way!
Lord of the big and the small, of the seen and the unseen, help us to reflect on our own lives to see what we need versus what we can do without. May we work to transform our lives during this season of Lent to reflect your love.
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