The Blessing of Repentance
While preparing for our midweek Bible Study on the book of Acts several weeks ago, Acts 3:26 struck me. After healing a lame man, Peter delivers a sermon and finishes with these words:
“God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Sometimes we can think of following Jesus primarily in terms of the hardship and sacrifice that come along with denying one’s self and turning away from sin. While true, this is only half of the picture. Acts 3:26 says that God blesses his people by teaching us to repent. Far from being a burden or merely a prerequisite for salvation, repentance is actually a blessing from God, a gift from him to us!
Peter previously tied the concepts of repentance and blessing together a few verses earlier in 3:19-21: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” By turning away from our sins, we can begin a whole new cycle of blessing that begins in the present and will culminate when Christ returns to usher in the New Creation. Refreshing indeed!
Don’t get me wrong; turning from our wicked ways is not easy. Jesus compares the process by which we “un-sin” ourselves to gouging out eyes and cutting off limbs. The self-reflection and discipline it takes to unlearn something we always thought was normal is an incredibly long, arduous process that takes most of us our entire lives. I’ve recently come to think of giving up sinful ways as sort of like giving up sugary drinks. Sugar and carbonation tastes good, and plain old water can seem so bland compared next to it. But in the long run, drinking soda is unhealthy. Giving it up is challenging, but in the end, we’re better off drinking water. Likewise sin, while sometimes offering short term benefits and pleasure, is not good for us. God’s way, on the other hand, while involving sacrifice, is a better and more meaningful way of doing life. A life of Christianity may not deliver the “hit” that sin used to give us, but it is replaced with “joy inexpressible” (1 Peter 1:8).
Even though life with Jesus is not easier, it is better. Christ gives us the meaning and purposeful life (using the language of Rick Warren) that the ways of wickedness promised but failed to deliver. With Christ, we can contribute to a purpose greater than ourselves by seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness!
To me, this is exciting! With God’s guidance, we can write a new script for our lives and don’t have to stay stuck with the narrative the world gave us. We can unlearn unhealthy patterns from our families of origin and adopt new patterns taught by Christ. We can be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” by conforming no longer to “the pattern of this world” (Rom. 12:1-2). Negative generational cycles can be broken and new ones can begin to bring forth generations of blessing.
Let’s be thankful not just for our salvation to come, life essentials such as food and water, or material blessings, but also for the gift of repentance; a new way of doing life!