Lynne Roots
“Repent” is a strong word. There is such a sense of foreboding about it. To soften it somewhat, Mr. Webster includes “contrite” in his several definitions of “repent” but, ”to feel so contrite over one’s sins as to change, or decide to change ones ways” is my favorite.
The Bible reading for this devotional, John 8:1-11, shows the perfect contrast between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old, the woman brought before Jesus for adultery would have been stoned….in the New, Jesus turns the situation around and puts the burden of the woman’s guilt on the Pharisees…”If any one of you is without sin, let him cast the first stone”. And then, He tells the woman that He doesn’t condemn her either but that she is to “leave (her) life of sin”. That is so Jesus…forcing us, through love, to look at ourselves.
As much as we don’t like to admit it, we all have dirty laundry…just how dirty depends on your perspective. What to one may be a major sin, to another may not be so. But sin is sin, regardless of how big or small. It doesn’t seem quite fair that all sin be lumped together….how can skirting the truth about a friend’s new outfit be compared to murder? No, it may not be fair in our eyes, but the good news is that Jesus loves us no matter the scope of our sin. So a person who has killed is as forgivable as one who told a little white lie. The other piece of good news is that we don’t necessarily have to confess our sin to the world or anyone else for that matter as long as we recognize it and decide to do something about it.
PRAYER: Lord, help us to understand we are forgiven.
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