We get worn out in life. We get worn out by frustrations that pile up and don't seem to have solutions. We lose our cool and get angry and resentful. We get worn out by flaws in our character, "I can't believe I said that again. I can't believe I treated her that way again." Maybe you feel like a pair of worn out socks much of the time.
We need new "socks" every day. We need repentance every day. But maybe we don't want repentance because it can be painful to come face to face with our true selves. Maybe we would rather have God take away all of our problems. But where would we be then? If he did away with all problems, he'd have to do away with us, right?
His gift of repentance is much better than what we may tell God to give us. Repentance is the gift that keeps on giving. Repentance is the blanket that comes wrapped around that baby Jesus in the manger.
"Repentance" has been the topic of a lot of my teaching in December. I recently learned that the early church emphasized this gift of God before the Christmas season as well. When the church began to celebrate Christmas, they used the time leading up to Christmas to intentionally practice repentance. This helped long-time Christians enjoy the gift all over again like a little kid running downstairs Christmas morning. This helped teach new Christians about how the gift of Jesus in the manger and a "new birth" in their baptisms would be followed by a lifetime of enjoying the gift of repentance.
Emphasizing repentance a few times a year gets us into the habit of "repenting" all year long.
We've all seen the young boy who gets in trouble have a hard time looking their parent in the eye. They may even have a hard time admitting what they did wrong. We can be much like this when God "catches" us in the act of wrongdoing. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm more embarrassed sometimes about losing the respect of other people than I am about offending God. This, too, I repent of.
But the gift of repentance invites us to look God in the eye and see that look of loving concern on his face. The gift of repentance keeps us from pulling our hand away as God reaches for it. The gift of repentance allows us to walk with God as he takes us to the manger to peak over at our sleeping Savior. We then walk with God as he shows us "family videos" of Jesus' life. We see a man much like us who didn't fall into the same traps we do. We see a man who lived life to its full potential. The last video clip we watch is that grown up Jesus breathing his last.
We gasp, "Why him? That should have been me!" God gives us that look of understanding and then points behind us as we see our long lost brother Jesus coming on the clouds with his welcoming party. "Welcome home!"
Repenting means to turn. Turn from offending this wonderful God. Turn to his Son this Christmas, every morning, noon and night and when he comes again.
Enjoy your gift. Repent with me, my friends. Repent.
