Writing a Different Future #4 – Thorough Repentance

Imagine that you’re driving north on the highway, and realize you should be going south. You need to turn yourself around and get on the right road.

That’s what repentance looks like.

“You don’t repent by taking a deep breath and then feel better. You only repent when you turn around and go back or toward God. It doesn’t make any difference how you feel. You can have the feeling, or you don’t have to have the feeling.

“What’s essential is that you do something. The call to repentance is not a call to [only] feel the remorse of your sins. It’s a call to turn around so that God can do something about them.” ~ Eugene Peterson

When we’re born, our faces are turned away from God because of sin. But when we repent, our faces are now turned toward God.

Yet repentance is not only a one-time decision that occurs when we come to faith in Christ. It’s an ongoing process, because we have to battle continually with sin in our lives.

And we’re always going deeper in our repentance.

Beholding God’s holiness, majesty, greatness, and glory causes us to see areas of our lives that are unlike God. We know we need to change.

The prophet Ezekiel called out God’s people: “Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:31).

The effect of sin turns us away from God: We stop reading his Word. We spend less and less time with other Christians. We make excuses for not going to church. And we fill our lives with activities and busyness. We move ourselves further from God.

Do a thorough job of repenting.

A hasty repentance results in a shallow spiritual experience and a lack of assurance. Therefore, spend time with God as you experience the full impact of his love and forgiveness.

As you consider these things, take a moment right now and listen to God. What is he saying?

~ Pastor Dave