Repentance

I think that I have posted on this subject before, but I was just thinking about somebody I heard on the radio awhile back: He described a hypothetical situation (one that actually could happen) where a family is driving to a camp site, and the husband/father drives past a turn-off that the wife/mother thinks is the right road. He insists that it is not, and continues driving. 45 minutes later, without seeing another road even remotely resembling the road that they need to take, he admits his mistake, and turns the car around. The radio announcer pointed out that they still weren't on the right road, but at least they weren't going the wrong direction anymore.
Sometimes in life, we have to make a change. Sometimes we come to the realization that we have been headed the wrong way for quite some time, and didn't even know. Sometimes it's a humbling experience. Nobody wants to be wrong, but sometimes we resist the idea that we are wrong so much that we end up staying wrong. God doesn't want us to be wrong; He gave His only begotten Son so that we could be right. We still make mistakes, no matter how committed to the Lord we are. That's where grace comes in.

Of course, we shouldn't live the way we want to, and expect grace to pick up our slack. The Bible also tells us that the righteous scarcely be saved. I don't know about you, but I don't want to just barely make it in--although I think that's exactly what's going to happen. When we make mistakes, we have to repent, ask forgiveness, do our best to make things right, and then move on. Try to learn from your mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them, or wallow in them.

It occurs to me that in the parable of the prodigal son, the son wasn't forgiven when he 'came to himself' in the pig sty in that far country, not until he returned home. But the Father had been watching for him to return, and was anxious to forgive him, because He loved him so. Something else I heard on the radio once (I'm not sure if it's true, but it sure is a good illustration): There was a Brazilian farm boy who decided that he had had enough of farm life, and he took off to seek his fortune in Rio de Janeiro. He left home breathing his desire to become rich and successful in the big city. After several years of not hearing anything from him, the parents became worried, and hoped that he would be willing to return to the farm. So, father packed up an overnight bag, and took all the money he could, and went to the city. He checked into a hotel, and took out an ad in the newspaper: "José, all is forgiven. Please come home." and included the hotel and the room number (and check out time). More than a hundred José's showed up--none of them his son. He tried to spend time with each of these young men, talking to them as a father, how much he knew that their fathers would want them to return home. Each of the young men insisted that he didn't understand, and wouldn't even consider it. But, you see, God wants us to come home, and He has a much better plan for us.