What is Ash Wednesday?

Today's episode is a little different than our normal because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.

And I want to help you understand what that is. So instead of a big story, this one is a quick Bible classroom moment. While you listen, see if you can tell what you already know. And what is new to you today? Mom.

Yeah. You've got something on your forehead. Wait. What? Right there.

We're using those markers again and then touch your face. Because it looks like you've got a smudge. Okay, okay. Good catch. But nope.

This isn't marker. And it's also not dirt either. Then what is it? It's from something called Ash Wednesday. Some Christians go to church on Ash Wednesday.

And a pastor may gently put a little bit of ashes on someone's forehead, often in the shape of a cross. Ash is like from a fire? Yep. Ash is. But listen, the ashes they're not magic, they don't make God love you more.

They're a symbol, like a picture that's showing us more, reminding us of something true. Ash Wednesday is the day that begins a season called Lent. Does that word sound familiar at all? Yes, actually. Lent leads up to Easter.

But what's with the ashes? Great question.

“When I was your age, I remember seeing people with ashes on the forehead and thinking what in the world is going on.”

In the Bible, ashes were sometimes an outside sign of what was happening inside someone's forehead. Someone's heart, humility, sadness over sin, and turning back to God. Here, listen to what Daniel did in the Bible when he wanted to seek God. Then, I turned my face to the Lord God. Seeking Him by prayer and pleas from ashes was fasting and sack cloth and ashes.

Ashes also remind us of something true about being human. In the book of Genesis, God says, "For you are dust and to dust you shall return." That reminds us, we're not superheroes, we don't last forever on earth. We need God for everything, especially for forgiveness and new life.

And what about Lent?

Are you talking about the stuff that's always in our dryer?

So yeah, we do call that Lent all those fuzzy pieces that come out of the dryer. However, this is a different Lent. Lent is the season that begins on Ash Wednesday and leads all the way up to Easter. It's 40 days of preparation for Easter. Lent is meant to be a time for prayer, fasting in the Bible you hear about fasting from food.

Some people for Lent will fast giving something else up or doing less of something in order to make room for God. And it's a time for giving, showing love to others in practical ways.

“And when you do these things, remember, can we earn God's love or buy it?”

No. God's love is a gift, but his love should change us to want to be more like Jesus. So we aren't doing these things to earn his love, but we are showing effort. It's more like training your heart back to God. Imagine you have a backpack.

And every day, you keep putting rocks in it. One rock that might represent "I want my way." Another rock you put in might represent "I don't want it for a gift." Another rock might mean "I just want to complain about everything." And after a while, your backpack, do you think it's heavy?

Yeah, and you might feel tired and cranky. Lent is kind of like stopping and pulling all the rocks out of the backpack. Like saying, "God, I don't want to carry this junk in my heart."

So maybe you give something up, not because the thing is always bad or evil,

“but because you want to practice saying, "Jesus, you are more important than my cravings and what I want."”

For us listeners, Lent could look like cutting back on screen time and using that time instead to pray.

It might mean making a giving jar during a Lent and putting coins in a each week or day for someone in need.

And here's a big point. We don't do it to show off. Jesus warned us not to make faith into a performance. Like, "Oh, look at me over here." If you do something for Lent, it's okay if it's quiet.

God sees quiet obedience.

“So tomorrow, if you hear Ash Wednesday, you can remember some of what we talked about today,”

and maybe you can teach someone about it. And if your family is part of the Kids Bible Stories family library on our Patreon page, I've posted a fun activity called a Resurrection Garden that you can do throughout Lent. It includes pictures and simple step-by-step instructions, so parents be sure to check that out.

“Also, quick reminder, if you go to kbspodcast.com, click podcast.”

You can search the word Easter and find all of our past Easter episodes. You can even make your own Easter playlist by writing down the numbers and making a playlist on the platform which you prefer. We will have new episodes this Easter, but some people prefer going ahead and listening,

so I always leave them up for you to access.

“The links for all of this are in the show notes.”

One quick away. And Kids, thank you so much for joining me on today's special episode. Next week, we'll resume our normal ones. Thanks again, everyone.

And, as always, bye for now.

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