Sand and the Spotlight
Jesus began and ended his earthly ministry on the topic of repentance.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 4:17
He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations..." Luke 24:47
However, far too often, we gloss over the subject. Oh yes, we love to talk about God's grace and forgiveness. And, rightfully so -- they are awesome, beyond understanding, and limitless. But if we celebrate the wonders of grace and forgiveness, we MUST also walk in repentance.
I think Regina said it best this morning when she said that you can't really have forgivesness without repentance; and you can't have repentance without forgiveness. They go hand in hand.
Jesus put some 'legs' to this concept in John 8. When the woman caught in sin was thrown at his feet; and the religious leaders were prompting Christ for a judgement. Jesus did something very important. He diverted attention away from the sinner and to himself. When Jesus starting writing in the sand, all eyes were on him.
How many times have we seen this happen in churches? Somebody "questionable" walks in the door. Maybe they have a tatoo, maybe different skin color, maybe everybody knows their life of 'sin', maybe a pregnant teenager, or a kid who was smoking in the parking lot. It's as if a huge, hot, glaring spotlight shines down upon the 'sinner.' It's almost laughable, but I've seen it too many times.
Maybe I'm making too much of a stretch here, (and you can let me know by leaving a comment), but I believe Christ was perhaps teaching us something about the message of repentance in this passage. Our job as Christians is to simply 'shine' the spotlight on Christ. We have no business ramming repentance down somebody's throat. Christ was VERY clear in this passage that we do not have the right or authority.
But spreading the message of repentance for us simply means...
1) Reaching Out
2) Lifting up Christ
3) Offering help and instruction with a humble heart
That's it. God will take care of the rest. He's the only one who can!
Posted: 2009-03-08
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