"‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’" - Jesus (John 8:7b)
Dear Friends in Christ -
We're in the midst of the second week of Advent, the week that begins with John the Baptist calling everyone to repentance to "prepare the way of the Lord." How are you doing with that? Have you spent more time this week pointing out other people's sins or repenting of your own?
Some people are confused about what repentance really is . . .
Repentance IS the appropriate way to deal with a wrong YOU'VE actually done or a good YOU'VE failed to do.
Repentance IS saying you're sorry, making amends, and then letting it go.
Repentance IS NOT something you can do for someone else. If you have been hurt by someone else's sin, you might need support or counsel, but you don't need to "confess" your pain, and you can't repent of their sin for them.
Repentance IS being sorry for what you've done or failed to do.
Repentance IS NOT beating yourself up about it.
Repentance IS, in addition to being sorry, doing something to help ensure that you won't repeat your error.
Repentance IS NOT saying you're sorry for something you did and then turning right around and doing that same thing again.
It IS appropriate to repent of sins actually committed or the intent/desire to commit sin.
It IS NOT appropriate to repent of emotions. Emotions - both the ones we often consider 'good' and also the ones we consider 'bad' - are just a normal, natural part of being human. It's OK to be sad, tense, angry, etc.
It IS appropriate to repent of unhealthily hanging on to an emotion in order to manipulate, seek revenge, etc.
The apostle Paul said, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Indeed, it's true. We see the results of sin both in and around us every day. You would think that with all the expertise we have with sinning, we would also have a great deal of expertise with repenting. In fact, we're pretty bad at it. How do I know? Even though we're Christians, our lives look too much like the lives of those around us. We're often impatient with others, unkind to ourselves, and more willing to stay stuck in our own messes than we are to get out by repenting.
Today, Jesus invites us to take a good, hard look. Not at the sins of our family members, our neighbors, or our government, but at our own sins. As we repent of these sins, we find freedom and new life.
Faithfully,
Janet+
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