The Beauty of Repentance

My dear reader,

Sin is ugly. That's all there is to it. Sin is that maddening, irrational, and chaotic alienation from God's presence. Sin is the angry wretchedness that plagues man's vain mind. The thing that he loathes is the thing that will bring him life, and the thing he loves brings him death. As James tells us, we are lured and enticed by our own desires. And desire when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Sin is death. This is such a horrible thing that even creation itself groans with the weight of it. While sinning may seem to have no immediate effect on us, the end result is judgement. We cannot escape it. What a plight we have chosen! No matter how hard we resolve to be good, no matter how hard we try to not do evil, we will fail when we rely on ourselves. We, an imperfect people, are doomed by God's perfect law.

So, what is the way out of this? The only way out is to repent. God's word from Isaiah 44 says:

"Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you."

What a blessed passage for a wretched man like me! Do you not see the love of God for His children here? The words "return to me, for I have redeemed you" are so powerful as to make one weep. God calls you to repentance, and repentance is so very beautiful. It is so beautiful, in fact, that the very angels in Heaven rejoice more over one soul who repents than ninety-nine souls who did not need to. Repentance is life. God's word, "you will not be forgotten by me" are astounding to ponder when we realize that God remembers us even when we do not remember Him. He is faithful even when we are faithless. In this passage, God establishes His authority and ownership over you by reminding you that He made you. He then says, "I remember you." What a statement by God Himself! God remembers us, he does not forget us. Even when we delude ourselves in sin, God calls us to Himself. "Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Amen and Amen! Repentance is so much more powerful than the sin that caused the need for it. Repentance doesn't cover sin up. - It doesn't take it to a far away place, it is gone like a mist. Repentance kills death. Notice that when the psalmist David, when describing repentance and God's mercy, does not say that God has removed our transgressions from us as far as the north is from the south. No, There is a north pole and a south pole- they are finite. East and west have no end - they are infinite. God removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. God can make our sin infinitely gone.

Continuing in the passage:

"Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel."

While creation would groan with the weight of sin, creation rejoices with the redemption of Israel. May we have faith in God who redeems us. For who will we go to for help? When we put our trust in others, they let us down. When we foolishly try to help ourselves, we stumble and fall. And when we do stumble and fall, we don't even seek help. We would wallow in our sin like the miserable people we are, but then a glorious and majestic voice calls us: "Return to me, for I have redeemed you." And then all of creation bursts out into songs of joy and thanksgiving at this wondrous work. May you, my dear reader, run back to the arms of Christ, for He is calling you. He will peel the scales off of your eyes and reach out His hand to stand you upright. He will then put His robe on you, put a ring on your finger, there will be feasting, joy, laughter, and angels will burst forth in song.

What a glorious mystery salvation is, and how beautiful is repentance!


-tb

Dear reader,

A very good way to tell where you put your trust, is to see what you look to for help when going through a trial. Maybe you have a physical ailment. You trust that the doctors can make you well again. Maybe you suffer from a debilitating illness. (I, for example, suffer from severe chronic fatigue) Maybe it is not you personally experiencing the pain, but someone else. A loved one. You feel pain because they feel pain. Maybe you have a broken heart. Whatever you are going through, and you are going through something, trials of various kinds reveal that we are, by our very nature, dependent. 

Although we always have been dependent, our dependency becomes plain to us when we experience physical or emotional hardships. It is at this time that we must realize that we are putting our trust in something, whether it be good or bad. When you are in that moment of agony, that moment of utter grief or despair, where will you put your trust? Will you try to be independent and trust in yourself? That would be foolish, dear reader, because you would be trusting in the very person who cannot make their own heart beat. Or will you accept that you are dependent and trust in God? Will you put your trust in Him who framed the heavens? Him who formed you out of the very dust of the ground, and has made your heart beat from the moment you were born, will you trust Him? Even the most prosperous man is entirely dependent on God for his very existence. Our sinful nature doesn't like this. It makes our skin crawl. We want to be independent, to run from help, to accomplish things all on our own, and to earn our salvation. But the reality is that we need help, we can't accomplish anything good of our own accord, and we can't save ourselves from death. We don't deserve help, and we can't earn it, so what then? 

We trust. We trust in Him who helps us even though we don't deserve it. Him who helps us when we did not earn it, but, in fact, earned the opposite, we must put our trust in Him. I adjure you, dear reader, don't trust in yourself. For a moment spent trusting in one's self, is a moment sorely wasted. But a moment spent trusting in Him who made you, sustains you, and can save you, a moment spent trusting in Him, is a moment you will never ever regret. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you,  for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

-tb