2 Chronicles 7:14
And My people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Acts 3:19
Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
How do you know if your repentance is real? For me, I ask myself this question: Am I running from the sin, or am I running from the consequences of the sin? Am I more worried about the punishment than I am about honoring my heavenly Father who has given so much to me and for me? I have found that the fear of punishment might make me turn away from sin, but it won’t keep me turned away from it. When the lights are out, and the cameras are off and we think we are all alone and in the clear from being caught or found out, the fear seems to disappear. When the fear is gone, I seem to turn right back to the sin. Running from the consequences alone is not real repentance for me. For me it is fake repentance.
I will admit that when I was a child, the fear of my dad’s belt kept me from a lot of sin. That fear was a good first step, but long term, that fear became part of the problem. Fear would often whisper in my ear, wait … wait … wait … now! Fear simply became an accessory to my sin. It became my lookout. As long as my dad was not around to catch me, there was no fear of the consequences. Without the fear of the consequences, there was no turning away from the sin for me. If there was no turning away of the sin, there was no real repentance.
As I began to grow and mature, I realized that something had changed in me. I had had a change of heart. What I once didn’t do because of fear, I was now not doing because of honor. You see, I am named after my father. Over the years, my dad taught me to see the value in my name. He would often remind me that the name that I was carrying was also his name. If I did something to harm my name, I would also be harming his name.
My dad and I did not always see eye to eye, but I loved him dearly. Because I loved him so much, and because of my gratitude for what he had given me, it didn’t matter if the lights were on or off. It didn’t matter if the cameras were on or off. I wanted to honor my father in my actions; so, I stayed away from those sins that had plagued me in my past. I realized that true repentance was in my heart and not in my actions or my mouth. My actions and words didn’t have real meaning or true change until my reasons for my actions changed.
As believers, God is our heavenly Father. He has given us His name. We should see value in That name. We should realize that if we do something to harm our name, we are also harming His name. We should honor His name in our actions, and our thoughts, and our deeds, because our hearts have changed, and we are now grateful instead of fearful. We must learn to run from the sin, not because of the consequences, but because we love Him for what He has done for us.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Be blessed
Genesis 31:49, … May the Lord watch between you and me while we are absent one from the other.
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