December 3, 2010

The Privilege of Repentance
Acts 11:18 (NLT)

When the others heard this, . . They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Acts 11:18 (NLT)

Pastor's Blog:

How is repentance a privilege?

Repentance is the gift given to human beings by God through Jesus’ death on the cross. Without asking me. Pure Grace. This means God is saying, “I want you back. I want to you to be in the family, not estranged. I want you as my beloved son or daughter” Do you see the length to which God has gone to make things right between you and Him?

Now it’s your, my, our move. Can you see that intellectual assent is not relationship? Can you see that if you reached out to an estranged child at great cost to yourself and that child simply said, “I understand” with no emotional or practical response, that you still have no relationship?

Repentance is the gift given to me and to you by God’s work on the cross to make things right with God from our side. God initiated and did everything necessary from his side. Repentance, then, is our side of the great reconciliation offered by God.

One more thing: relationships are fragile. When was the last time you repented in prayer for your actions, sins, and attitudes? Repentance is a healer. It’s ground zero. When you have nowhere else to go, you always have the foot of the cross. There you are accepted, have a fresh start and have God who will offer you help for the one zillionth time.

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