Resistance vs. Repentance.
“It was very hard for me to see clearly, and though I never spoke about hell or only jokingly so, I woke up one day with the realization that I was living in a very dark place and that the term ‘burnout’ was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death” (Henri Nouwen, “In the Name of Jesus,” p. 11).
The Apostle John said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1:8). But as Henri Nouwen commented above, there are times in life when it is very hard for us to see clearly. Sometimes we work so hard to get good at what we’re doing, to accomplish all the tasks before us, and to justify our existence and worthiness, we do not see where we are faltering. In our efforts to please God, others, and ourselves, we may end up living a life without genuine repentance.
This can happen to me personally when I become so occupied with tending to other people’s lives that I can no longer see myself accurately or confess my own failings with accuracy and sincerity. This can happen to the church when it becomes focused on its own agenda so completely that it never asks the questions, “Of what do we need to repent? How are we failing?”
If we ever think we have everything completely right, we are, in effect, saying we have no sin. That means we’re in serious trouble. The truth is not in us. We have lost the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
This, as Nouwen said, is a very dark place.
When Peter decided to go off on his own and rebuke Jesus for talking about the cross, Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men” (Matthew 16:23). “Get behind me” means to get in line, to follow behind Jesus (opiso mou). Instead of running on ahead by ourselves with our own twisted GPS, we are called to follow in the steps of the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Instead of resisting the Truth, we submit ourselves to Him and follow where He leads--even if it does not square with our agenda.
In Revelation 11:3, the Church is portrayed as a prophetic body, always wearing the sackcloth of repentance. How do you need to stop and examine your own failings? How can we as a church face in an honest way where we fall short and, instead, follow in the footsteps of Jesus for the answers?
Will we resist the redeeming call of Christ and end up as spiritual wreckage or will we live a life of repentance?
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