Though there is that saying to “act like a Christian” I think our true aim should be to simply “act like Christ”. Does that make sense? Our sins that were worthy of eternal separation from God have been forgiven on the cross, yet because we continue to live in sin daily we must seek repentance and then go forth in faith that we are forgiven and live in the grace that God has given us. Therefore, we ask God to forgive us for sinning consciously or unconsciously against Him and against those around us. While as a non-Christian, these things might be done simply out of ritual or habit or, by the grace of God, the beginning and nurturing of further seeds of faith.Īs for your question about needing to be forgiven of our sins, we must daily seek repentance because – though our eternal sins are forgiven by the grace and sacrifice of God in Christ Jesus – we continue to sin daily. As a Christian with a professing faith, we do these things as a reminder of all that Christ has done, is doing, and will do in our lives. There most certainly is a difference, I think. In our flesh we will return to dust, but in Christ we are alive in spirit.Ģ. Even so, in Christ, we live in the eternal hope of the resurrection.ġ. Whether in a formal Ash Wednesday service or privately in our homes, we can use tomorrow, the first day of the Lenten season, to remember that from the dust we were made and to the dust we shall return. On Ash Wednesday we admit our limits and acknowledge the brevity of this life. Wearing the ashes is a way to repent of our rebellion against God and “confess our sins one to another” (James 5:16). People see the mark of the cross at their work, in class, and at the grocery store. The ashen cross the congregant wears is an outward sign of both repentance and hope. But with Christ, they are a reminder that, though our bodies will one day return to dust, we have already been given the hope of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:22).Īsh Wednesday is an opportunity to publicly profess our faith. Without Christ, the words “remember that you have to die” are hard ones. We remember that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and yes, we all must die (Romans 3:23).Īsh Wednesday is a day of hope. We remember that from the dust we were made and to the dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19). Ash Wednesday is a day where we take a page from the book of Job and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6). During Lent, we focus on our need for the death and resurrection of Jesus we focus on our need to be forgiven. So what is Ash Wednesday, and why do many Christians observe it?Īsh Wednesday is a day of repentance. We are free, but not required, to do the same. In fact, some instead say, “Remember that you have to die.”įor more than a thousand years, Christians around the world have begun the Lenten season this way: with the sober acknowledgement that with humanity came sin, and with sin came death. These are the words a priest utters as he smears a cross of ashes onto his congregant’s forehead during an Ash Wednesday service. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
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