A PAINFUL STEP

Repentance is a painful but necessary step we must take when we offend God or hurt others. Yet it is not a cleanup job that we accomplish. C.S. Lewis says that repentance "is not something God demands of you before He will take you back…; It is simply a description of what going back is like." A Christian, writing anonymously in Leadership magazine, told of his bondage to lust, which included regular diet of pornography. Yet he still conducted Christian conferences and seminars across the country. To his horror, he realized that such pleasures as a breathtaking sunset of the soft spray of an ocean breeze no longer excited him. His obsession with love had dulled his appreciation of life’s finest enjoyments and prevented the joy of fellowship with Jesus.
Although he had been outwardly faithful to his wife, their relationship had suffered. When he turned anew to God, he realized that a necessary step in breaking his lustful pattern was along talk with his mate. The experience was painful and awkward, but the repentance was genuine. She forgave him, and love returned to their marriage. Repentance results in life’s true pleasure—communion with God and spiritual oneness with fellow believers.

When tossed about by sin and strife, and darkness hides the way, The Savior gently says to us, "Repent, believe, obey."