Tell God You’re Sorry, then Live Like You Are
One of the most difficult things to talk about with our children, friends or those we mentor is personal sin – our own struggle with it and what we’ve done well and what we’ve done poorly to deal with it.
I’ve always had a great relationship with our children. So when one of our daughters was uncharacteristically distant, I asked her if something was wrong. “It’s nothing.” (It’s always nothing!)
Days later she came to me and shared something she’d done for which she was ashamed. Ironically, I knew or strongly suspected what the problem was. In any case, the important thing was that she understood what she had done, was sorry for it and had made some good decisions to lessen the likelihood this would ever happen again. Seeing how terribly sad she was I just held her, told her I loved her and how honored I was that she had come to me.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9
Confession is good, but repentance is better
It wasn’t only her tearful confession that moved me; it was the safeguards she put in place to keep from temptation in the future, which impressed me even more. She understood intuitively that while confession is good for the soul, repentance is far better. Repentance is more than remorse. It’s disgust, even anger over our sin and a whole-hearted desire to never do that sin again. If we tell God we’re sorry, then he expects us to live differently if we truly are.
I’ve always had a great relationship with our children. So when one of our daughters was uncharacteristically distant, I asked her if something was wrong. “It’s nothing.” (It’s always nothing!)
Days later she came to me and shared something she’d done for which she was ashamed. Ironically, I knew or strongly suspected what the problem was. In any case, the important thing was that she understood what she had done, was sorry for it and had made some good decisions to lessen the likelihood this would ever happen again. Seeing how terribly sad she was I just held her, told her I loved her and how honored I was that she had come to me.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9
Confession is good, but repentance is better
It wasn’t only her tearful confession that moved me; it was the safeguards she put in place to keep from temptation in the future, which impressed me even more. She understood intuitively that while confession is good for the soul, repentance is far better. Repentance is more than remorse. It’s disgust, even anger over our sin and a whole-hearted desire to never do that sin again. If we tell God we’re sorry, then he expects us to live differently if we truly are.
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