Lent begins with repentance. And today, I want to share with you how this gift of repentance, given by the Lord, is far more than a simple act. It is a gracious work that reaches deeper than behavior alone.

In this series of devotions, we are going to reopen repentance to discover that this gift brings incredible transforming and eternal healing.

Scripture tells us that sin is not only something we do — it’s a condition that is true in us. We are sinners. Yet for all those who believe in Jesus, we are at the same time justified by His righteousness. This creates a tension that we will continue to live in until the day of completion.

So if that is true, one might ask, “Why does the Lord then call us to repent?” Let’s reopen repentance to discover one of those reasons.

Today, in Repentance Reopened, we discover that repentance is returning us to reality.

First, it recognizes the reality that we are sinners. Repentance is the honest acknowledgment that I have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. When most people think of repentance, they think repentance is saying, “I am sorry for the wrong I’ve done” and that is true.

But repentance is not just about recognizing a wrong that is present. It’s also recognizing a right that is absent. Yet it is also a recognition of another reality. I’ve been acting contrary to who I was created to be, and contrary to the design of the way life is meant to be lived.

Like a cold case revisited, repentance goes back not to punish, but to uncover what was missed, ignored, or misunderstood. It reopens the story of our lives so that truth can finally be told clearly, and mercy can be rightly applied.

This recognition of reality is not just a gift of grace for those who’ve done wrong. It’s also for those who have been wronged. Sometimes we hold on to behaviors as reactions for survival. For example, being hypervigilant, self-protective, emotionally numb, controlling, appeasing, or even hardened of heart. These are often go-to reactions when we have been deeply hurt or sinned against.

But repentance gently asks a new question for both the offender and the one offended. Does this still serve the life God has redeemed and is restoring in you?

This is where baptismal identity speaks with clarity and kindness. Repentance recognizes the reality of who I am in Christ.

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

In repentance, I’m not just highlighting the presence of wrong in my life. I’m also recognizing and confessing the absence of what is right and what is meant to be.

But further, it’s an expression of confessing the truth and accepting everything right that is supposed to be there. Repentance returns me to reality. I am baptized into Christ, and anything that pulls me away from that life, no matter how unthinkable or how defensible we may see it to be. Repentance names it, releases it, and Christ returns us to reality and identity found in Him.

If you’d like to return to reality, let me lead you in prayer right now.

Prayer
Lord, I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, and that I have lived in ways contrary to who You created me to be. I also confess the ways I have held on to patterns that once helped me survive but no longer reflect the life You have redeemed for me and are restoring in me. Return me to the truth of who I am in Christ, and lead me forward in the freedom of your grace. Amen.

In Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. He does not leave you in what is broken, false, or incomplete. He returns you to reality restored, redeemed, and held in His grace.

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