Romans 8:5–11

My mother was busy at the stove when I poked at the fish sticks with my fork and whispered to my brother, “Burnt. Again.”

“Just another Friday,” he whispered back. We both grinned. Each Friday during Lent was meatless, and Mom’s repertoire of fish recipes was very limited.

“Pass me the ketchup,” I said. The only way to consume blackened fish sticks was to cover them and pretend they were something else.

My mother meant well. Raising my brother and me in the Catholic Church, she followed the traditions familiar to her. Fish on Fridays, she told us, was to honor the fishermen who ministered with Jesus.

I knew better than to argue that the disciples had not all been fishermen, so I doused the sticks with ketchup and ate them.

Lent is a time when many people “give up” something to honor the sacrifice of Jesus, but nothing we do could ever compare to what Jesus did that Good Friday thousands of years ago. Our attempts — however sincere — are small. Peter also meant well when he tried to talk Jesus out of the cross. “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22). Peter failed to understand that the way to redemption was not found in giving something up, but in taking something on.

And it certainly wasn’t abstaining from meat on Fridays.

Life in the Spirit Is Something We Receive, Not Earn

Paul’s words in Romans 8:5–11 shift our focus from what we subtract to what God adds. “You… are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.” This isn’t a reward for good behavior. It’s a gift. A presence. A life that takes root in us and grows.

We can give up chocolate and still cling to resentment.
We can give up social media and still refuse to forgive.
We can eat burnt fish sticks every Friday and still never let the Spirit soften our hearts.

But when we take on something — a practice, a posture, a prayer — we make room for the Spirit to do what only the Spirit can do.

What Taking On Looks Like

Paul describes two mindsets: one shaped by the flesh, the other shaped by the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life isn’t about deprivation; it’s about participation. It’s about opening ourselves to the One who already lives within us.

Some ways we “take on” life in the Spirit:

• Take on silence so God can speak into our noise.
• Take on a breath prayer so the Spirit can steady our anxious thoughts.
• Take on an act of kindness so Christ can stretch our compassion.
• Take on Scripture so truth can reorient our minds.

These aren’t offerings we make to impress God. They are openings we create so God can impress His life upon ours.

The Spirit Who Raised Jesus Lives in You

Paul ends this passage with a breathtaking promise: the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us. Not visits. Not checks in occasionally. Lives.

Where the Spirit lives, something always grows — peace, patience, gentleness, courage, hope.

My mother’s fish sticks didn’t make me holy. But they did teach me something: good intentions are a start, but transformation requires more than tradition. It requires letting the Spirit in.

So this Lent, instead of asking, “What should I give up?” maybe the better question is, “What do I need to take on so the Spirit can bring more life into me?”

Because the goal of Lent isn’t less of us.
It’s more of Him.

✨ Takeaway

Lent isn’t about what we subtract but about what we make space for. When we take on practices that open our hearts, the Spirit grows life in us—peace, courage, compassion, and hope.

🙏 Closing Prayer

Lord, open our hearts to Your Spirit. Help us take on the practices that draw us closer to You, and let Your life grow in us day by day. Amen.