Repentance

Metanoia is the Greek word we translate repentance.  It means a change of mind.  John the Baptist preached repentance as he prepared the way for Jesus.  And Jesus said the same as He began His public ministry.  It strikes me that the beginning of it for any of us is to hear God speak to us through Jesus.  It may begin with the prophets, with reading the Bible, but at some point we realize it is Jesus that we need to listen to.  Before we change our behavior, we realize some behavior, sin, is not what we want.   As I have struggled with sin, I have said, “Lord, you didn’t make me for this.”  And I have also prayed, “Lord, what is my problem?”  Our old nature or, as a pastor called it, our self-life, dies hard.  It is stubborn like a tough weed.  I have found that we can talk to the Lord, and better yet, pour out our heart, over it.  We can grieve.  O’ur failures and the grief that comes is part of Jesus work on the cross for us. The very grief of our failures is something He bore on the cross.  He has carried our griefs and sorrows.  Thank you, Lord Jesus.

I heard a message in which the pastor led us to a simple prayer.  Purify me, Lord.  The Lord hears and responds.  The first step is a removal of guilt and shame as we draw near to Him.  He is always faithful to welcome us into His presence when we stray.   Remember the Father’s response to the wayward son who was returning.  While he was still far away but had decided to return, to repent, the Father ran to meet him and restore him quickly.   No purgatorial type  of time lap here. I think it matters that this was a wayward son.  Without debate this one knew the Spirit, was a child of our Father, our Abba.  He was restored quickly with joy and given authority.  May we note the hardness of the elder son who had wandered more seriously even as he ‘served’ in our Father’s house.  He had lost heart connection.  Who had wandered more seriously?

Beholding Christ, we are changed.  Eternal change is a work of the Spirit from the inside out as we say.  An encounter with Jesus, the living Christ, brings us to know the love of God.  We then want to respond and please Him.  It includes a change in our emotions, thoughts and will.  The Spirit will bring us through situations and testing so that we will see who we are, that He has called us to be His in every part of our lives.  He is our redeemer,  the One who loves us and brings us home.  Think of that son who left home, wasted his life, and woke up one day to return to his Father’s house.  He is welcomed home with a hug, a robe of righteousness and authority.  He responds by serving in His Father’s house with joy.  Repentance is a matter of growing to know the heart of our Father and guarding our hearts from offense and growing cold.  It is continual and a process.