Healing Family Relationships Through RepentanceSample

Repentance is a word often used in Christian circles. Sometimes we use religious words without understanding their actual meaning. In the Bible, particularly the New Testament, the word repentance literally means "a change of mind." It means that we radically shift our thinking, attitude, and mindset in regard to our sin. We take responsibility and drop the excuses. We stop sugarcoating, minimizing, and blaming. We change our minds and change course.

I can think of situations when I have lost my temper with my wife. I went to her and said, "I am sorry I yelled at you, but I would not have gotten angry if you had not spoken disrespectfully to me." Rather than take full responsibility for my anger and harshness, I blamed my wife. True repentance is a complete changing of the mind. Instead of passing the buck, I fully accept that the buck stops with me.

Imagine that you are out for a long hike in the woods. After walking for a while, you recognize that you have taken a wrong turn. You stop hiking in the wrong direction, turn around, and hike back toward the point where you took the wrong turn. That is repentance. First, you recognize that you have gone down the wrong path (your mind changes). Second, you turn around and take intentional steps in the right direction (your behavior changes).

True repentance does not stop with a change in our thinking but continues with a change in our behavior. We have all experienced people in our lives who apologize to us over and over for the same offense, and yet their behavior never changes. After a while, the apologies begin to lose their meaning.

Today, ask God to give you a truly repentant heart – one that accepts responsibility and takes action to change.

Reflection Question: In what area of your life do you need to not only acknowledge you are wrong but also take action to change your behavior?