This evening, my 4 year old son, Conner, didn't want to go to bed. He had a tiny splinter in his foot that he needed removed. So, he asked if he could watch a movie while I took it out. As it were, I am a master-surgeon when it comes to splinters. I actually thought to myself, "wow, what a brave boy, when I was his age, I distinctly remember acting like my leg was being amputated without anesthesia whenever I had a splinter being removed." So, I got all prepped: needle, head-light, tweezers, and the rubbing alcohol. When it came time to do the deed, the water-works began, and I literally had to hold him in submission while I did the minor surgery. When he realized that his struggling and moving and fighting was completely useless (I am really good at putting a kid into "submission"), he simply asked for his blanky and laid peacefully while I finished the job. When it was all over and I got out the splinter that was approximate 1mm long, I asked if it hurt. He simply smirked and shook his head "no". I asked, "Does it feel better?" He replied, "Yes." And I said, "I'm glad, I love you."
What a great metaphor for our lenten journeys. We begin quite confident that we can turn away from sin. That this will be the time we finally give it up. But when it comes time to let go of our habits, we fight Christ tooth and nail. I know I said I wanted the sin out, but maybe I didn't mean it. I will kick and fight and struggle to hold onto it. But, then, in a moment of Grace, we finally listen to Christ tell us "don't worry, let go. Just trust me, you'll feel better when it's over." We relax and let Christ go to work on our soul. When Easter finally arrives after 40 "agonizing" days (comparatively trivial to the real agony Christ suffered), we look back and decide that we didn't need that sin after all. Christ asks us, "Does it feel better?" and we reply... "Yes." And He says, "I'm glad, I love you."
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