What does Lent mean to you?

[George]

Some just say it's a Catholic thing, some might say it's a period of reverence, etc. Through the various services offered and the events commemorated on Sundays and more, it's a time for me to grow spiritually and to reflect, as well as to fast.

 

[Albion]

However it is observed, all of those activities put us in mind of two things: 1. the fasting that Christ himself did, as recorded in Scripture, and 2. the great suffering and sacrifice that the Lord endured for us (and which the church will commemorate immediately following the end of Lent).

 

[Josiah]

It's a time to especially focus on repentance and renewal..... As we gather around the Cross, realizing we nail Him there but that's it's not the nails that hold Him but His unconditional, universal love.

 

[Confessional Lutheran]

Lent is a forty day period ( excluding Sundays) wherein we focus on repentance of our sins and renewal of our faith, as [MENTION=13]Josiah[/MENTION] stated above. I look at it as a time when my faith gets a sort of spiritual recharge, when the proclamation of the Word and the reception of the Sacraments have an added significance to my faith life. Some years I give something up to remind myself that God provides all things and for me not to take them for granted ( because they can just as easily be taken away). It is definitely a time to remember and repent of our sins, but it's also a time to reflect on how great God's love for us is and how deeply He desires fellowship with us, despite the enormity of our sin, ( the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ being the most concrete example of this). Lent can also be a time during which one might add something to one's regular devotion and thus give the time period an added significance.

 

[NewCreation435]

Lent has never been emphasized in the churches I have attended as a adult, so it really doesn't mean much to me to be honest.

 

[MennoSota]

Lent is a construct of a few denominations. The purpose ranges from an attempt to remember Jesus atoning sacrifice all the way to attempting to self-flagellate and beat oneself up for being a sinner.
The spiritual significance is determined by oneself or by the denominations dogma. There is no biblical ordinance provided in scripture. It may or may not be of value depending fully upon the value an individual ascribes to it.
Since it does not seem to alter the truth of the gospel, I am neither supportive nor antagonistic to lent. Like a church potluck dinner, it can have some value for the congregation.