The apostle Paul caught a glimpse of a great truth: God is so full of goodness that He goes to great lengths to keep us in right alignment and relationship with Him so that we can be blessed by Him.
He shared this truth with the community of faith in Rome. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4)?
In other words, don’t you see how wonderful and patient God is that as He sees you heading in the wrong direction He seeks to catch your attention and turn you the right way around?
That’s what repentance is: changing direction, turning back to God’s way. It’s simply turning from the way of self-centeredness and self-indulgence to God’s order or prescribed way—for our good and His glory. Yes; for our benefit, our well-being and peace of soul.
RELEVANCE
We see a great example of this in the story of how God called Jacob to return home after laboring twenty years for his uncle Laban. The problem was Jacob stalled. He settled in a land called Succoth. Then he went to a place called Schechem. There all hell broke loose. His daughter was raped and his sons took vengeance, causing great grief for the family.
The question is why did he keep stalling? Why did he continuously fall short of going to Bethel? What kept him from going all the way as God instructed? The truth is his family had fallen into idolatry, and became entrapped in the ways of the world. Jacob lost sight of God’s vision. Things had to get so bad for him to feel the pain. He had to get sick of falling short of God’s best. God’s word—return to Bethel—finally pierced his heart.
So Jacob related God’s message to his family: “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments” (Genesis 35:2). His family needed a complete paradigm shift. They needed to turn from worshiping the idols of the world—lying vanities and vain things—and change their whole orientation towards life. Finally they did make it to Bethel—the place where God made a covenant with Jacob—and then to Hebron, the place God appointed for the family to dwell.
As we turn and confess how we have fallen short, God’s grace applies the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to change. Our part is to will to do so and follow God’s instructions. It sets you free from guilt and brings God’s peace.
REFLECT AND RELATE
In what areas might God be trying to grab your attention to make a change? You don’t need to harbor fear or guilt. Simply confess, will to change and follow God’s instructions.
REFERENCES
James 1:12-25