Yesterday I was in a conversation about the whole forgiveness issue. It is my opinion that we have cheapened forgiveness. When I pray or ask for forgiveness, I am asking someone to forgive something I have done. Now, there might be some kind of understanding that I also mean that I will not do it again, but that goes unsaid. I think forgiveness is mostly focusing on the past mistakes with little to no focus on the future. I think that is why we are instructed to repent. The Bible does not say to ask for forgiveness. It says, repent. The word repent is both past and future focused. I desire forgiveness for my past action and I do not plan on committing the sin again. I plan to turn. Merriam-Webster defines repent as "to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life". We need to be dedicated to amend our lives. Sin is serious and it affects every aspect of our lives. Let each of us Repent and Amend.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We talked about this in our Life Group. After your sermon, I now realize that I have to put ACTIONS behind my words. I can ask to be forgiven, but to show I am sincere, I must REPENT. Thank you for pointing out that we sometimes leave out the most important step of the process! Darlene Perkins
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