Repentance and Forgiveness

What a special day it was yesterday for the families of our children who received their first communion!  It is such a wonderful thing to see the young people of our congregation growing in faith and participating in the gifts He gives us!  Congratulations to Adam, Katie, Andrew, Joshua, Emma, Kia and Lesli!

While yesterday celebrated first communion, it was also the first Sunday of Lent.  That is an interesting combination since first communion is a joyful moment in the life of the congregation and Lent tends to be a more somber season.  The two actually go together, though.  

As we work our way through Lent we lift our eyes to the end of this season when we will observe Maundy Thursday, when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday, when His body was broken and blood spilled for us to forgive our sins, and Easter Sunday when He won the victory over death.  As we gather around the altar to received Jesus’ body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins, we remember Him and proclaiming His death until He comes.  But we are not merely remembering Jesus; we are receiving the salvation He died to win.  

Jesus’ salvation is central to our lives.  

Maybe that seems like an obvious statement, but there is always part of us that makes us think we have to do something to either earn, or at least contribute to, our salvation.  It’s just not true, though.  We contribute nothing to our salvation.  

“Don’t I at least have to apologize?  Don’t I have to repent?” you may ask.  

You will repent of your sins, that is, you will turn away from your sinful behavior, but not to earn forgiveness.  We repent because we are saved.  We repent because the Holy Spirit has washed us of our sins in Baptism and He is still at work in our lives.  We repent – change the way we think and act – because Jesus has loved us and we love Him.  

So we read on Sunday that Jesus proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”   We sometimes separate those two things – repenting and believing, but they are really one action.  One cannot believe the gospel without repenting, nor can we repent without believe in the gospel.  

It has been said that repentance is the mark of the Christian life.  It is certainly a mark of the new life we have in Jesus.  Yet we always struggle.  We always fall short.  We find ourselves constantly pulled between sin and grace.  That is why it is so important to leave our salvation in Jesus’ hands.  That is why it is such good news (gospel) that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Jesus has entered this world and won our salvation.  

God bless your Lenten observations.  Don’t forget that we will gather on Wednesdays for worship and focus on Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation.  Dinner is at 6 p.m. and service at 7 p.m.