There is a certain subject that has been weighing heavily on my mind for some time now. I feel this blog needs to leave its focus on the divine faith of women in order to turn its focus to this important topic. This precious subject is repentance.
I thought I would begin by defining repentance. When we turn to The Bible Dictionary, we learn repentance is a translation from a Greek word that denotes a change of mind. The Bible Dictionary clarifies what this means by stating, “Repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined.”
This is important to understand. When we are born into mortality, we receive a body of flesh and bone. This body carries certain needs, desires, and passions. For example we need food, water, and air to live. We need love and respect in order to have a sense of self worth. We need intimacy in order to procreate. In addition it draws us closer to our eternal companions when properly used.
Our natural bodies take these needs and turn them into natural desires. We have a desire to eat delicious food, which can lead to overeating, unhealthy eating, and disobedience to the Word of Wisdom. (The Word of Wisdom is found in the 89th Section of The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of this church recognize this as revelation given by God through President Joseph Smith. It provides direction for taking care of our physical bodies and makes promises for those who uphold it.) Our desire for respect can lead us to seek for worldly power and prestige, driving us to break the commandment of holding no other “gods” before the One True God. And our desires for physical intimacy can drive us to break the laws of marriage and chastity, which state we will have no physical intimacy except between a man and a woman legally married.
There are many other desires held by our physical bodies. Each of these can be satisfied in accordance with the laws of God. However, our physical bodies push us to satisfy these desires without respect to the laws of God. When we choose to satisfy any desire in a manner breaking the laws of God, we are sinning. Then we need repentance.
When we have faith in Jesus Christ, it will always lead us to the point of repentance. This is because we will desire the promises He has made. These include eternal life with God and all that our Heavenly Father has. Think of all the things our Heavenly Father, who is God, has. That is truly a magnificent promise.
But this promise rests upon our repentance. So it is that our faith will always lead us to repentance. At first we will probably do it for the promise. But over time we will find ourselves repenting simply because we love Jesus and we know Him. When we know Him, we learn God is always doing what is best for us, even when we don’t understand it. This means we can always trust that His will is best for us. Thus our mind begins to change to seek after His will in all things, knowing His will brings about our best interests in the long run far better than ours could.
So we have a change of mind. Our minds change to trust God’s will over ours. Repentance means changing our minds to follow God’s will and not the desire of our flesh. So, doesn’t it make sense that having faith, true faith, in Jesus Christ leads us to repentance?
It does. And as we practice repentance, we draw closer to Jesus Christ. As we draw closer to Him, we repent of ever smaller deviations from the will of God. We learn to recognize repentance as a gift from God that allows us hope. We learn to cherish this gift and look for ways to practice it every day of our lives.
This wonderful gift of repentance is difficult to do. It takes a long time and a lot of effort. This is because it is only truly completed when we no longer desire to perform the acts that don’t conform to the laws of God. It isn’t enough to simply say, “I’m sorry I did that.” It isn’t enough to refrain from doing it again. True repentance requires that we repay any damages—whether in time, money, or effort—created by our sins. It requires that we no longer commit those acts. And it requires that we no longer desire to commit those acts.
This means it requires faith. Think about your biggest weakness. Most of us aren’t honest enough with ourselves to really confess even to ourselves what that biggest weakness is. But try to just for one moment. When you have, consider how much work it would take to forsake that weakness. If you are being honest with yourself, you know you can’t do it. So what is the point?
The point is to practice faith and believe Jesus Christ overcame these temptations and can help you overcome yours as well. Then you must practice faith and try to repent. You’ll fail. So you’ll have to practice faith and try again. Again you’ll fail. So, you will need to practice faith and try again. And you must keep at this until the time comes that Jesus Christ steps forward and gives you the help you need. But faith in Jesus Christ will lead you to do it to the point you learn it is worth every ounce of pain and effort it requires.
I can testify that I know how precious the gift of repentance is. I know how much it is worth the effort it requires. I am a sinner. There are many things I have done in my life that are not in accordance with the will of God. So I have needed to repent many times. Some of these have been more serious than others. Therefore some have been more difficult and have taken more time to repent of than others. And I still have many to go. In fact, I think I have far more to go than those I’ve worked on. But I have practiced repentance and I have learned how precious it is.
Let me close this entry by exhorting you to repentance. You know you aren’t perfect. You know what your flaws are. And you know they don’t conform to the laws of God. So repent. You will find the process difficult and painful. You will find the process rewarding and very much worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment