Repent, Repent, Repent!
“Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow…” - Is 1:16
As we approach the shadow of the Cross on Good Friday during Lent, we are reminded of our call to repentance. Much of that call comes from Isaiah reminding the Hebrews of the loving and forgiving God that they have. Where the depictions of God in the Hebrew scriptures are often of vengeance and violence, Isaiah paints the picture of one who calls to us, longing for us to return into relationship with the LORD. There are no hindrances, no barriers, it is a simple path to repentance.
So often we are the ones who set up the blocks between our own relationships with God. Why does reconciliation seem so scary all the time? I often look into the Hebrew Scriptures and wonder about this question. So many of Israel’s troubles could have been avoided if the Israelites would have simply returned to God. How difficult is that? I mean, it’s clearly the right path, but they fail at it so epically. As a result, they are the authors of their own destruction. And yet, are we so different from them?
Maybe it’s because we don’t like shining a light on the dark places in our lives. Maybe we are too comfortable with our brokenness. Maybe we simply cannot see how open the path to reconciliation is. Whatever it is, for so many the way seems shut. We become our own worst enemies, authors of our own continued brokenness. And, yet, this is what we are called to do during this season. Repent. Not to be shamed, but to be welcomed back. Not to be punished, but to be embraced. Not to be chastised, but to be loved.
What are the broken parts of me that need to be left behind? Why do I hold on to the sinful parts of myself? What is keeping me from accepting God’s forgiveness?
Matt Keppel