REPENTANCE AS A WAY OF LIFE

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Luke 3:8

I am beginning to understand that life is a constant process of change. Growth requires experiencing life and reordering one’s mind. You need to be able to change your mind, or better still to have it changed for you – by God who moves you to think differently about something.

Repentance is not simply turning around and going from being bad to being good. Sin is not just what you define as evil, sin is disordered affections, misguided mindsets and selfish thinking. God does not hold this against us, He releases us from the snare that is sin so that we can have life. God sets us free to seek him, and he watches over us and gathers us like a hen gathers its chicks.

Repentance is a way of life – it is about holding an opinion or a stance on something but allowing God to grow us through it and change our minds about it; do not be stuck in your perceptions and opinions, allow God to grow you. Even temptation is an opportunity to choose God’s way.

I have learned that life is not a step ladder which we simply progress up to heaven on. It’s a whirlwind, where you build and breakdown and fail and try again and fail again and develop and grow and wait, so much waiting! We take baby steps and go around in circles and learn as much from our sins as from our saintliness. (I’m more sinner than saint so I learn more from my sins than from my saintliness).

The writer of Hebrews makes the bold assertion that even Jesus learned from experience and we see that in Jesus ministry, even Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52) and understanding, even Jesus changed his mind about things as he grew in his ministry. The most obvious being how he said he came only for the Jews but then realized that he was here for the Gentiles too. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Jesus is not just for the church side of you, he is for all of you. Jesus is at work in your Monday to Friday thinking, and in your Sunday thinking. God is watching over you when you are dressed in your Sunday best and when you are draped in your worldly worst, and he is saying come home. “Come if you are thirsty, come if you feel unworthy and unhappy and unspiritual and unloved and unappreciated and unwanted and  misunderstood. Come, you don’t need to win my affection you don’t need to earn my grace, come.  Even though you have not born fruit, and you deserve to be ripped out the ground, but I’m going to water and nurture you and cause you to bear much fruit, come.” (Luke 13:8)

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.( Gal 5:25)  – be open to God bringing about a change of heart and a change of mind. Invite the Holy Spirit to break down preconceived ideas for God to transform us, in our relationships, in our work in our witness in our attitudes.

 God is not finished with you, come and be nurtured and grow and bear fruit.

*Meditation*

Where is God wanting to nurture my life so that I bear fruit.

*Prayer*

Thank You Father that you care for my life and want to grow me.  Amen.

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

(Galatians 5:25)