Repentance

Reading the last book by Alexey Kolomiytsev, Reformation of the Soul, I came across a reminder of the value, importance, and inevitability of repentance in the life of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of this book, the author summarizes the meaning of true repentance:

“God requires more from you than nominal church attendance. He needs you. Your heart. Your brokenness. Your awareness of your wrongs and sinfulness. Your trust. Your hope. Your obedience. Your love. Repentance is the soul’s transformation.” (p. 52)

And indeed, how often repentance is reduced to performing a certain ritual, following a set of steps. Sometimes, even good things, like asking God for forgiveness, many cannot explain the reason behind it, what is it for, or the purpose behind it. After all, even during John the Baptist’s time, the Pharisees and scribes came for the baptism of repentance, but John called them the offspring  of vipers! Why? Because they were repenting  not for God, but for prestige, acceptance, or political reasons.

“The well-known preacher, Yarl Nikolaevich  Peisti, once said: ‘To repent means  to obey the command “turn around.”’ That is, to suddenly stop and turn around. That is what John preached.” (p. 22)

“We are generally no opposed to coming to God, but in a way that we don’t lose anything. Not lose our sense of self-worth. Not lose our plans and goals in life. Not lose our rights. Not lose our opinions. Not lose everything we hold dear in others. We want to sit with Him at the negotiation  table  and  have a dialogue as equals. Yes, perhaps we have gone too far at times and are ready to compromise. But without the actions of the Holy Spirit, it is utterly foreign and absurd for a person to seek God with the desire to worship Him and become His servants.” (pp. 22-23)

Recently, while reflecting on the well-known story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan  woman,  I made an interesting discovery – this  story lacks formal repentance altogether! This woman clearly needed salvation and forgiveness. And in the end, we see that she had indeed received it, going on to invite the entire town to listen to the Messiah. But  what happened  between these events? She drank the Living Water! She encountered the Savior, Who openly spoke  of her sins but led her to the realization of the love, grace, and forgiveness flowing from the Spring of water – Jesus Christ! And even with all this, the normal act of repentance, as we usually expect, is absent. Repentance truly happened! It was internal and genuine! But the key to the Samaritan woman’s repentance is that she truly encountered the Living God in the face of Jesus Christ!

Oh, how I wish that we would all drink from this Spring of Living Water more often, more abundantly, and for more extended periods of time! Repentance  for the sake of the communion  with the Savior frees us from all falsehood and hypocrisy. We stop repenting for the sake of comfort of this life or the life to come. Instead, we seek  God in the person of Jesus Christ!

Friends, how do you understand repentance? Why do you repent? Do you repent at all?

⁹ Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,
¹² and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

• Thursday (7:00 PM) – Seminar “Grace in the Family” (A. Kalinskiy)
• Friday (7:00 PM) – Seminar “Grace in the Family” (A. Kalinskiy)
• Saturday (9:00 AM) – Seminar “Grace in the Family” (A. Kalinskiy)
• Sunday services:
  • Worship Service in Russian at 9:00 AM
  • Worship Service in English at 11:15 AM
  • Evening Service at 6:00 PM (with participation of GFC missionaries)