An Invitation to Repentance
“You can tell me. I promise I won’t get mad.” Words that I’ve heard from my parents, teachers, band directors, an ex-girlfriend - and all of these individuals turned out to be liars shortly after I confessed to whatever heinous act I had committed. Maybe it was forgetting to set the chicken out to thaw for dinner, or neglecting a homework assignment, but for those two examples and every other time I had heard those words, it seemed like a broken promise. “I promise I won’t get mad.” The promise was a trap, a bait-and-switch. I admit to some wrongdoing and the open-hand invitation to confess becomes the open-hand smack of punishment.
This experience led me to a very shameful life, particularly during high school, where I tried to hide my mistakes and failures. At the same time, I was in church every week on Sunday and Wednesday, and I thought I knew who God was. I projected all these broken promises from people onto my image of God. I believed that God was angry with me for my sin, that He would not forgive me unless I fixed my mistakes, and that He wanted me to feel guilty and ashamed for the decisions I made. I heard about the invitation to freedom, the forgiveness of sin in Jesus, and the promise of God’s redeeming love for me, but in my mind, it was gonna be another trap. In my mind, I thought repentance would go like this: I admit my mistakes, confess my sin, plead for forgiveness, but it wouldn’t arrive. All I thought I would find was commands to clean myself up and try again when I wasn’t a sinner. The irony of it is painful as I reflect on that time of my life and how much shame was warping my perception of Jesus.
Shame teaches us to hide from God.
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:6-8 (NIV)
We first see this in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve disobey God, sin and shame overwhelm them. They not only cover themselves from one another, indicating the severity of the broken trust that was now present, but they also hid from God. Their fear and shame drove them away from God.
The same is true for people today. Our lives and world are steeped in sin, and we focus so much on our mistakes that we can’t imagine forgiveness being an option. Too often we try to fix our own problems, hide our struggles, and avoid the subject of repentance altogether.
Repentance is not a trap.
The invitation from God to repentance may sound a lot like, “You can tell me and I promise I won’t get mad.” God is the perfect Promise Keeper though, so repentance is not a trap; it is truly an invitation to experience love, forgiveness, and freedom.
God calls out to us, even in the middle of our sin and shame.
“But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:9 (NIV)
God is patient with us, and wants everyone to accept His invitation to repent and be free from sin and shame.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
It is understanding who God is that brings us truly to repentance. Recognizing not only His holiness, but also His mercy. Not only His justice, but also His kindness. Not only His desire for a relationship with us, but also His patience.
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Romans 2:4 (NLT)
Repentance is a wonderful gift from God. It reveals simultaneously His deep and abiding love for every single person and His wrath for sin. Shame wants to blur the line and confuse God’s hatred of sin with hatred for us, but this is not the truth. God hates sin because He loves us. His goodness, love, and kindness are beacons for us to follow - away from sin, and into His forgiveness.
Here is a prayer that you can pray this week: “Lord, You alone are merciful, just, holy, and kind. Thank You for loving me. I know I have fallen in sin, and in doing so, I have turned away from You. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price for me to be truly free from sin. Help me to remember Your kindness and to accept Your invitation to repent. Help me to long only for You, Jesus.”