Rejoicing In Repentance

The whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It was a crisp fall afternoon as I walked up my driveway, slowly flipping through the larger-than-usual stack of mail.

Junk, junk, junk . . . wait, what’s this?

The letter was from my friend’s teenage son, and I had a feeling it was a request to support his football team. I tucked the envelope under my arm for safekeeping and continued my stroll as I flipped through the rest of the mail.

Caden plays football for my hometown’s fierce—and sometimes bitter—rival, and while I haven’t been to a hometown football game in a lot of years, my loyalties default always to the Hornets over the Bulldogs. But as I read his letter, I knew I’d be doing the once-upon-a-time unthinkable: monetarily supporting those rascally Bulldogs because I love Caden infinitely more than I love the Big Lake Hornets.

As I slipped the red flag up on my mailbox the next morning, I pondered where else I might be holding traditions, policies, or something else over love and care of people. A football rivalry is admittedly a rather silly example, but it got me thinking about other, more serious instances in which I’ve failed to love others as myself because I’ve supported a tradition, policy, or my own self-interest ahead of caring for them.

Ouch. It isn’t pleasant to come face-to-face with the inconsistency between what I profess to believe and how I live my life; however, it is a necessary part of my faith journey. I cannot grow stronger and more firmly rooted if I refuse conviction followed by repentance when I’ve gotten it wrong.

Friend, there is nothing to fear from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Each of us have fallen short of the life God calls us to live. Admitting, repenting, and striving to do better is a sign of active, maturing faith. The danger lies in the belief that we’ve arrived, that our theology is perfectly expressed in our deeds, that we have no more work to do.

Instead, let’s thank God for that sick-to-our-stomach feeling when the Holy Spirit lets us know that we messed up. Let’s rejoice over growth, changing behaviors, and a humble willingness to repent.

Julie

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Gratefully embrace the Holy Spirit’s conviction as an opportunity to grow in your faith.