Repentance

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:21-25

I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
— Romans 7:23

Repentance isn’t complicated. It can be as simple as saying “I’m sorry.” Yet for all its simplicity, repentance can be surprisingly elusive.

When I was a child, my parents taught me the basics of repentance. When I broke a rule or did something hurtful to my brothers, they instructed me to say I was sorry (whether I actually was or not!).

If you think of repentance, how do you picture it? Does it show the relief of a reunion with a long-lost friend? Or is it more like the grim resignation of a driver pulled over for speeding in traffic—or, similarly, like an athlete called on a foul by a referee: sorry, not sorry!

Actually, repentance is amazing, if we think about it. It gives us the chance to name our sins and have them taken away.

Oddly, though, we don’t often think or talk much about repentance. And, perhaps more strangely, we can tend to think about it less and less the more we gain experience as believers. It’s almost as if we think we somehow outgrow our need for repentance. (More about that later.)

And so we hide.

When was your last experience of repentance? Can you remember it?

God, remind me that true repentance brings freedom. Help me not to shrink from confessing, but to embrace turning toward you with joy and trust in your mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by: Ron Vanderwell