Text: John 14:15-21, Deuteronomy 5:33, James 4:7-10, 2 John 1:6
Growing up in the religious South, I’ve too often thought of faith as one of those moving walkways in the airport. The point was not the walking or the journey along the way; the point was getting to the destination—heaven. Or, to put it bluntly, not hell.
Being a Christian meant picking the correct lane and facing the correct direction. No deviating to the left or right, no passing Go or collecting $200. No obvious need for a Savior or real understanding of grace. Just a beeline for the pearly gates, with a little tithing and a lot of church attendance thrown in for good measure.
Aren’t you thankful Jesus didn’t come to give us empty religion? He came to give us Himself. The invitation Christ extends is an invitation to a relationship with Him.
Repentance is not a box we check so that we end up on the right side of eternity; repentance is an everyday event, a manifestation of an ongoing relationship with God. We turn from our sin and turn to God, and we walk with Him. The turning is the first step, but the walking is a continuous motion. And, contrary to what we may fear, it is not something we do on our own.
The night before Jesus was crucified, He sat with His disciples around a table and said to them, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands” (John 14:15). Those twelve men could not have known the full weight of Jesus’ statement at the time, but in hindsight, we can see just how hard that would be. Like them, you and I know how difficult it is to walk steadily in the way of Christ. We know how often we fall, just like Adam and Eve and every generation after them fell, and just like the imperfect disciples sitting around that table. When we hear “if you love Me, you will keep my commands,” we may wonder if we do.
We aren’t perfect. That’s why the perfect Savior came. Jesus came to give the Father glory and to give us Himself. And what He gave, the world could not take away.
They took His life, but He gave us His Spirit. They buried Him in the ground, but He rose out of that grave and later into the heavens, where He lives so we might also live (John 14:16,19). Yes, Christ calls us to walk in obedience and love, but we do not walk alone. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus said to the disciples that day. “I am coming to you” (John 14:18).
Our command-keeping is not about proving to Christ that we belong to Him. It is what happens when we are His. When we repent of our sin and turn to God, we receive the Holy Spirit as His never-leaving, always-living gift to us. “He is the Spirit of truth”—a Spirit the world cannot receive or understand, a Spirit that teaches and reminds us of the things of Christ (John 14:17,26). He is our Helper, our Counselor.
With hearts so prone to wander, we may be tempted to stand still in our fear or uncertainty. But repentance is not a passive position; it is an active and humble pursuit. It is turning from sin, turning to God, and walking in obedience—all by the grace and mercy of a good Father who loves His children.
Trying to learn more and more about repentance and what that looks like on a practical level. Can anyone share what that looks like for them day to day? Thanks sweet sisters
Repentance for me involves a lot of “talking to God” meaning just talking to Him through the day, asking for His guidance so that I can live a faithful life. True repentance is pretty new to me, I am sorry to say, so I always thank God for helping me see that true repentance is not just saying “I repent” but more importantly that it is heartfelt and honest. Basically I ask Him to guide me and walk with me during my day even though I know He is very busy with an entire universe.
This may be more basic than what you’re looking for, but repentance to me means asking for forgiveness as soon as I am aware that I need it. I ask God to forgive me, and I ask the person I may have offended. Sometimes I need to repent from an action and other times it is a wrong attitude or thought (for example, worrying instead of trusting God). I often have to remind myself that I trust Jesus by saying it out loud. When I believe the lie that I have to do any part of life on my own, I pray this scripture: “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 4:19
Lord, I need to be constantly reminded not to do life on my own. Help me to not compartmentalize You in certain areas but to walk in the Spirit and allow You to permeate my heart and mind at all times. Thank you Tara for this post today!
Awesome insight about asking for forgiveness for others!! Thanks hun.
I’ve also been wondering what repentance means. I’m not sure but to me, it’s not only confessing to God but also turning away from self and turning towards God. What does this look like in our daily life? Admitting that we don’t have control over sin in our lives and can’t “will” ourselves not to keep doing it, but trusting that God has control and is able to liberate us from that sin.
Hi Sarah! I too am on a journey learning what repetance looks like. A couple of suggestions include memorizing and saying the Lord’s Prayer each day(Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us) and from James 5:16 “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other” . Community is a really important aspect of our faith and part of the beauty resides in being able to confess our sins to trust worthy Christian women. Women that will keep you on the straighted arrow and not just tell you what you want to hear. Hugs and much love sista
“Our command-keeping is not about proving to Christ that we belong to Him. It’s what happens when we His”. I have had this backwards for some time. I’ve always said that if we live God we will do things with excellence. While I believe that doing things well is a way we worship God, I’ve left out the fact that when we don’t do this in our own strength -God’s presence is with us because we obey so we are empowered to show off in a way that brings Him glory. My disobedience not only robs me of His Holy Spirit, it robs Him of the glory due Him.
I feel like I often depend on my own strength in striving for excellence. How have you overcome this and just relied on your dependency on God to excel through you?
Amen! Needed this today
Thank you father God.
Oh I love that we are not orphaned but fathered. So loving <3
I have lived for so long, trying to obey to earn His love. But He is calling us to love Him – to simply love Him – and out of that deep love for Him, to let our obedience flow. When we are His, when we love Him and when we are confident of His love for us, obedience is our desire.
I really like what you said Madison. I have been trying so hard to obey an earn his love. I question if I’m saved all the time. After reading more in the Word I have realized that first of all, I did nothing to save myself, so I must trust in the Lord my God that he has done it all! Secondly, if I’m by confident or feel “worthy” enough to be His, I’ll never grow with Him! I have accepted His love and acknowledged His power and LET GO. My desire is to be His, only His, and live for Him. And that is so freeing to know that He knows my heart and I can trust that he is working things together for our good and His Glory!
Such a good reminder that repentance is an active, everyday act. Sometimes I forget this and feel guilty for “repenting” so often. But true repentance shouldn’t bring a sense of guilt, it should bring a sense of freedom. I’ve gotten really good at the whole turning to God part of repentance, but feel like I’ve been failing lately at the whole turning & continuing to walk away from sin part of it.
Powerful devotion. “If you love me”? just meditate on those four words for one day and the next day meditate on the words “you will keep my commands”. I think it will change my life.
I think for so long I have read this verse in the right order but reversed the statements in my mind..thinking that keeping the commands will somehow prove my love..instead of loving and letting the keeping come as a result. Thank you for breaking it in half and causing me to pause and think of this verse the way it should be thought
Grace! I love this idea. I’m taking this concept, starting today: “if you love me…”