Repentance: Do We Take It Seriously?
Pastor Randy Corbin, Transitional Lead Pastor
| A few weeks ago, I believe God gave me a dream to alert me to my failure to faithfully repent. In my dream, a friend came to me burdened by a bundle of sin and said he wanted to confess it so he could be rid of it. He then began to tearfully tell me of the horrible things he had done. He said he was confessing it to me and God because he wanted forgiven of it. After he unloaded, he breathed a sigh of relief and said he felt much better. However, I responded with, “Sorry, that is not good enough.” “What do you mean?” he questioned, and I came back with, “Confession to me and Jesus is only part of the path to forgiveness. You forgot repentance, a serious resolve to change your mind about engaging in these activities again and setting plans to avoid them again. When I awoke, I asked the Lord what this dream meant and why He gave it to me. I felt Him saying the dream was for me – that sometimes, I do/think wrong things and simply confess them to Jesus during my quiet time or before bed, knowing that I may well do it again – gossip, exaggerate, slander, etc. and I can simply confess them again and God will forgive me. So, not a big deal. Like a vending machine, I can insert my confession into a slot and forgiveness comes out. The Lord reminded me that such is not good enough. Repentance is a necessary step should we want forgiveness and true transformation into the likeness of Jesus. Repentance means seeing the absolute wrong of any sinful practice, grieving our entering into it, and being serious about not engaging it again. It probably means planning ways to stay out of it again. So, when you slip into bed tonight and whisper your prayers or when you bow your head this Sunday morning in church, realize forgiveness is more than confessing our sins and claiming that all it well. Forgiveness must include repentance. We must grieve the wrong, affirm the wrong of it, and make full resolve to not fall into it again. There is no forgiveness when we know of a certainty that tomorrow or next week, we will probably do it again. May God give each of us a renewed sensitivity to sin and a passion for looking like Jesus! Repentance will take us there. Join me in the journey! |
cacadmin
