I was recently helping at a conformation retreat where Brother Thomas gave a talk about repentance. He explained repentance in a way I have never thought about before.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” –Acts 2:38
Repenting can be seen all over the Bible and among other readings. People mention it all the time. We are told to “repent and believe in the gospel.” People say and even yell these words all the time. But what does this actually mean? What does it mean to repent?
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines repentance as“to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life.”
I like this definition: “to turn from sin.” In order for someone to turn away from something they have to want to. They must make the decision to turn around. When I think about this for my life, I think about all the things that I do that do not bring me closer to God. I am asked to repent for these things and to turn away from them. Do I? The big stuff that is obviously inhibiting my relationship with Jesus is easier to notice when I don’t turn away. However, what about all the little things such as my fears, my friends, and my desires for earthly things I don’t need? These things aren’t bad at all! Some of them are good, but if I weren’t careful these things could, in some way, become idols. If I am to head a different direction, I must turn and find a different path. Sometimes, I just need to refocus myself on Jesus and not worry about the other things.
The second part of the dictionary’s definition refers to “dedicating oneself.” In order to turn away from something, we must turn toward something else. We must turn to the Lord. This means devoting time for Him. We should be making time that is set aside just for him. I find that in my life, I sometimes forget to make time for God. He isn’t the priority, I just give him the extra time I have. Maybe I put a job, school, friends, or maybe even family before him. I must give Him the time first. How much time do you spend watching Netflix? Don’t get me wrong Netflix is awesome! But if you think about it, we are wasting a lot of our time… Why don’t we use some more of that time to pray?
To repent means to stop. Stop what you are doing and look at your life. Do you need to focus? Maybe you need to turn around and devote your life to Christ in all that you do. This doesn’t mean you have to give up everything, but you should do everything for the Lord. Work for the Lord and invite Him in your everyday life. To repent is to give God the time that you should! You should make Christ first in your life. Maybe you need to run to confession and stop saying yes to sin. It is hard, but it is what we must do. When we fail, we cannot give up we have to try again, until we get it right!
Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance. --St. John Chrystotom
Just mt
Go With God
Duncan C Tiemeyer
