Serious Repentance

Serious repentance does not just ask the "what" question.  It insists on asking the "why" question.  Real repentance is not content with naming the sin although it is important to call our sin by its name.  Otherwise, we are likely to regard our sin as something less than it is.  When we are serious about repentance we go beyond naming the sin to asking why we allow the sin to have a place in our life.  We ask "What is there about me that enables the sin I confess?" 

 

If repentance really takes it has to go further than acknowledging the sin itself to looking inward at the core values which direct our outward behavior.  Thus, repentance truly is a matter of the heart.  If we are constantly judging others, we need to ask ourselves why it is necessary for us to verbally destroy people?  Is it a way of letting others know we are better than those who have fallen into chaos?  If we are stingy and greedy, it is important to ask why we cannot respond to human need with generosity?  Is it because we fear there will not be enough for our own needs?  Do we not trust God to provide?  What are the core values which direct our outward behavior and do those core values reflect an attitude of trust and confidence in God?

 

Repentance is serious business for any believer in Jesus.  It is not something we do once at the moment when we accept Christ into our lives and begin the Christian journey.  The deeper we go in this walk with Christ, the more we get in touch with the inner part of us which always seems to demand attention and care even when it puts us in opposition to the Christ we are following.  Serious repentance is not content with knowing that such happens, but persists in understanding why.  Only when we understand "why" does the possibility of turning a different way become an option. "Lord, help me to know my heart.  Amen."