The blessing of repentance (2)

Fri, 30 Sep 2022

‘Create in me a clean heart.’ Psalm 51:10

Sometimes believers think that God will get frustrated and impatient with them if they don’t shape up to a model Christian life. They don’t like to excuse their behaviour, because God hasn’t smacked them down, they secretly wonder if He has a tolerance level. And if you go beyond it, you’re in trouble. Is there, they think, a safety limit for impurity, such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration has? Is the standard for purity high like that for homogenised milk, or is the threshold lower like that for meat pies, with lots of room for junk additives?

The danger isn’t that God won’t respond to our honest repentance. The danger is that we might become so trapped in the dangerous thoughts of apathy that sin inevitably produces, we become callous, complacent, and simply unable to repent! It’s because of this that sin must be taken seriously. Missionary Frank Laubach preached the gospel to a tribe that had a lengthy history of bloodshed. The chief was so moved, he repented and accepted Christ on the spot. Then he turned to Laubach in appreciation and said, ‘This is wonderful! Who do you want me to kill for you?’

That was his beginning point. Only God knows what everyone’s beginning point is. What’s yours?