That word Lent reminded me with gratitude of things that I have been loaned over the years: cars, holiday homes, books. In fact, I inherited a number of books from my father-in-law, Michael Rees, when he was promoted to glory, which all bear inside the cover that very word Lent.

If you are lent something you have it and can use it, but it doesn’t really belong to you, and eventually you, as borrower, must return what you have borrowed to the lender. And because you don’t own what you have been lent, you are responsible – and ultimately accountable – for how you use it. As I pondered this, the thought struck me that the concept of ‘being lent’ applies to our lives in at least three ways.