I love that Jesus reminds us that repent and believe are
a package deal. One really does no good
apart from the other. All too often I
forget that.
I get repentance. I really do.
In fact, during the course of a day I usually turn (or return) to Jesus
over and over and over again. My problem
typically comes with the belief part. It
is the belief part that gives the repent part its power and its substance.
If I repent and then fail to
really believe that repentance makes all things new again, then it does little
good. I am still trying to earn my way
back to Jesus. If I repent and fail to
really believe that God sees me the way he says he sees me, then I will
continue to perform and try to make myself worthy of his love and forgiveness. If I repent and fail to believe that what God
says about me is really true, I will continue to be at the mercy of my own (false) inner narratives.
Repent and believe means
that the narrative of Jesus is the one that determines my life and my
actions. The narrative that says, “I
love you. You are mine. Nothing in this world can ever change that. You are valuable because I made
you, because I dreamt you into being, because I created you fearfully and
wonderfully. You are my masterpiece, my poem, my work of art. I imaged you before the foundations of the world and I breathed you into being with the breath of my mouth. When I think of you it
brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart.
Live your life out of that love and affection.”
Now THAT is good news!
Now THAT is good news!
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