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Lent: What Are We Living For?
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV) Lent is just around the corner. As this season approaches, I find myself asking one simple but important question: What am I really living for?
At the beginning of every new year, many of us make resolutions with hope and sincerity. We promise to care more for our health, grow in our work, and give more time to our families. These are good and meaningful intentions.
I began this year the same way—with strong determination and big hopes for the church’s vision and growth. As life became busier, it seemed that I was living according to a vision.
January has passed. February followed. And now Lent is at our doorstep. And with its arrival, a question rises in my heart: Am I missing what matters most? And another follows closely: If I claim to live for the Lord, how deeply do I understand His heart?
Even as a pastor, I must admit that my own plans can easily take priority over God’s will. My schedule and goals can become louder than God’s voice. I still need to grow in humility, in listening, and in following Jesus more fully.
This is why Lent is so important. Lent is not simply a season of giving something up. It is a season of reflection and realignment. As we remember Jesus, walking toward the cross, we are also invited to examine where our own steps are leading.
We often measure life by success and achievement—how much we have done and how productive we have been. But Lent asks a deeper question: Who are you living for?
The apostle Paul gives us a powerful answer in Galatians 2:20. His old life is no longer the center. Christ now lives in him. His life is shaped not by personal ambition, but by faith in the Son of God who loved him and gave Himself for him.
Jesus did not live for comfort or recognition. He lived for the will of the Father and gave His life for others. His journey to the cross shows us a life defined by love, obedience, and sacrifice. Lent reminds us that faith is not only about what we believe, but about how we live each day.
This season gently calls us back to the heart of our faith—not to burden us with guilt, but to invite us into renewal and realignment. As this Lenten season begins, may we pause long enough to listen. May we rediscover God’s presence in the middle of our busy lives. And may this become our prayer: “Lord, the life I now live, I want to live by faith in you.”
— The Rev. Peter Choi Wesley United Methodist Church, Hamilton Chapel
