I believe repentance is not the
condition of forgiveness (i.e., we repent so
that God will forgive us). Nor is
repentance the consequence of forgiveness (we repent because God has forgiven us).
Rather, repentance is forgiveness itself. Grace is the chance to continue, to try
again, and be in right relationship. I
find it difficult explain this to people who have never been chronically in
trouble. There comes a point when a
person has been corrected and/or punished for the same thing so many times that
they become convinced that they can do no better. I experienced this as a child. I’ve seen it in marriages where one spouse
has an overly critical spouse and they simply lose hope. Also, people working
in jobs where every mistake is hyper-scrutinized can experience this sort of
hopelessness. Too many Christians have
felt this experience in church. Such over-bearing examination and criticism
does the opposite of what the critic intends.
Rather than raising a persons performance or goodness or attitude
(whatever), it simply leaves them wallowing in their own failures. God dispels such hopelessness the way light
dispels darkness. I appreciate a prayer
by Soren Kierkegaard in this regard, “Teach me, O God, not to torture myself
and not to make a martyr of myself in suffocating reflection, but to take deep
and wholesome breaths of faith!”
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