Repent and Seek God’s Forgiveness

In Luke 15:10, Jesus Christ tells us that the angels rejoice when even one sinner repents. What does it mean to repent? To repent is to have a change of mind and heart. It’s to recognize that we’ve said, thought, felt, and done things that were contrary to God’s Will and Word. Once we realize our errors, the Lord Jesus Christ instructs us to seek God’s forgiveness for our sin, and repent—to change our words, thoughts, feelings, and actions so that we don’t do what we used to anymore. Change doesn’t always happen immediately or overnight. Very often it is a process that requires us to allow the Holy Spirit to help us with reprogramming. But recognizing that we’ve stepped outside of what God wants for us is the first and necessary step.

Many people, especially in our current environment, are dealing with extreme sadness. When you pull back all the layers, the root of this sadness is an absence of faith in God. They don’t understand that we have a significant role to play in the quality of our lives, and that this role has everything to do with how much of our lives we live through Jesus Christ.

God’s Will and Plan for every individual is that they have a wonderful life. This is the whole reason He sent His Son to the earth. Jesus Christ said in John 10:10(NLT), “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Most of us would be satisfied with just an abundant life, but God sent Jesus Christ to sacrifice his life for the remission of our sins so that we could have a more than abundant life! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is GOOD NEWS! It’s good information because it is the truth, and he tells us in John 8:32(NLT), “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

If knowing the Good News of Jesus Christ sets us free, then not knowing it keeps us in bondage. This is the current state of many of God’s people, and it is because they haven’t learned about what Jesus Christ has made available. A person can’t rise above what they don’t know, so when we don’t hear the Good News and trust it, we live far beneath our privilege. The lights are not on in terms of us understanding our identity in Christ and who God has created us to be.

2Corinthians 4:4(NLT) says, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” How does satan blind people’s minds? Well, one of the ways that he does this is by bombarding people with wrong information so they will not seek the right information of God’s Word. Social media is one of the things the devil weaponizes to keep people from the truth. We become so captivated by what is going on in the world that we don’t notice how malnourished our souls have become. It’s the deprivation of our souls from a lack of God’s Word that causes us to run on empty, become emotionally troubled, and not know our identity.

We are God’s children. Romans 8:15(NLT) tells us, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”” We are the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. He’s our big brother, and God’s Will and intention is that we align our thoughts, words, behaviors, and actions to mirror the example of Jesus Christ. Christ is the best that we could ever hope to be. He is who we are becoming, and his kind of actions are those that please and honor our Creator. We dishonor God when we sin, and therefore, we cannot help but to dishonor ourselves. This dishonor to ourselves brings sabotage, insecurity, fear, and all kinds of other remnants of darkness that keep us in bondage.

1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT) tells us, “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night.” It is our privilege to walk in the light of Christ and to live according to his example. Coming into the light is recognizing that we’ve been in the darkness. God has made it possible for us to be transformed and live the way He always intended, but He will not force us to do this. It’s our choice. And if we place our trust in the light of Christ by repenting from our sin and seeking God’s forgiveness, the love of Christ will make itself home in our hearts. Our faith in him will grow stronger as we become the person God created us to be. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Repent and Seek God’s Forgiveness”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.