‘What are you giving up for Lent?’ That seems to be the main question as we begin a new month. During Lent it is tradition to give something up for the six weeks leading up to Easter. Lent is a time for giving up, whether it is chocolate or biscuits, or giving up some time to go to Lent meetings or to visit someone. But I think that sometimes by the end of the month, giving up is exactly what we do. We start out with the best of intentions and firm resolve, but then we give in to that biscuit or slip in our efforts and lose some of our dedication.

Sometimes that can be how we feel about our work in our church. God calls us to do something and we start out with good intentions and lots of enthusiasm, but then things go wrong and we get disillusioned and we want to give up. So perhaps what we need to do in Lent is give up giving up. To think about what God wants us to do and go for it, whether it is something we have been doing for a while or something new we feel He is leading us to. As we move through Lent, may we give up giving up, focus on Jesus and, as St Paul puts it, press on with determination towards the goal set before us and the calling given to us.