Repentance

     I have a question for you: have you ever said a prayer, and it feels like it stopped at the ceiling, or pray for forgiveness from God, but then, even though you have faith you've been forgiven, you still feel guilt?  Well, I hope by the end of my next two posts, we'll have solved this puzzle.
     I believe the gospel, at root, is relational in nature.  It's not, so much, the "don't do this, and don't do that", although it is a part of the whole.  It's about a relationship that each one of has with Jesus Christ, primarily, and with each other, secondarily. The two, first Jesus, then your neighbor, while different in many ways, cannot remain separate; they must function together in order to fulfill each individually.   The apostle John wrote "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"
(I John 4:20). 
     I'm a simple man; not gifted with great intelligence; I like to keep things simple.  So, I would like to suggest 4 simple steps to repentance, that if heeded, will be a blessing in your walk. The first step is remorse, or sorrow, for sin.   In 2 Corinthians  7:9-10, we read " Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing; For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.;"  Sorrow, while painful, is a true blessing.  It is evidence that the Spirit of God is working in you to call your attention to that which grieves it. It is the Spirit calling us to repentance.
     The second step is vitally important: a frank admission of guilt. The reason for this is because confession is good for the soul.  It also is the fruitage of true repentance. Most people are sorry for getting caught, not for the act.  This frank admission is the "opening of the wound" that truly begins the healing process from within.  In Psalm 51: 1-12, King David makes such a statement before God: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit."
     Steps three and four go together: stop doing the wrong thing, and do the right thing.  In Isaiah  1:16-17, we see these two steps given: "Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well;".  I call this the "principle of replacement".  Many years ago, I had the "privilege" of getting a root canal.  The bad tooth was keeping me up at night, so I finally decided to do something about it.  As the dentist numbed my tooth, all the pain left me.  He then removed everything in the tooth that was bad.  I thought, for sure, I would finally get a good nights rest.  I was wrong.  Even though the bad stuff was gone, I was left with a hollow tooth that screamed at me every time I breathed in and out.  It wasn't until the dentist filled the tooth, and made it whole, did I find relief.  Such is the case in our lives.  It's not enough to remove that which is leading us astray; we need to be filled with that which makes us whole again.  Another time in my life, I decided I was watching too much TV.  So, I made the decision that I would not turn it on after work that evening.  I ate dinner, got bored, and watched TV.  I didn't have a replacement.  The next evening, I left my scriptures out, and spent time there.  In the book "Ordering Your Own Private World" the author made a powerful statement that has stuck with me ever since: "any unused time will always flow to your weakness".  Truer words have never been uttered in regards of my time management.
      Repentance can be painful, humiliating, and embarrassing, but it is also necessary to enter into the Kingdom of God.  In my next post, we'll look at the other side of this coin: forgiveness.  One without the other is useless.  In order to be truly free, we need to see this process as a whole, instead of a one sided ritual.  God bless.