The Dark Side of Repentance

Stupid, right?

 “Daniel, how can you say such a thing when the Bible, front to back seems to command people to incessantly repent?”

What a spiritual hellscape we would live in if all we ever did was repent! Imagine a world where this was the primary focus.

Tears and lifestyle changes overwhelm people, as they incessantly shift from different forms of themselves to new, other forms of themselves. What if every answer the heart defaults to in worship communicated only one thing: Repent! Maybe every church service only plumbed the endless depths of all we must repent of and why we ought to? Imagine every person obeying this decree, as fathers, sisters, grandparents, mentors, friends, all existed only in constant flux? How would that make you feel? Would you trust those people? Would you have a grasp on who they were? Can you build any form of stable relationship or community?

I’ve spoken to several people that feel this way about themselves. Always looking for and not finding the “thing” that they are looking for that will anchor them in life and make them feel substantial. Sincerity, frustration, and a desire to “break out” of themselves simmers within them – and all they hear from believers is some version of repentance fanaticism: “We are all just sinners under grace”, “we must bear our cross”, “The least will be the greatest”.

Nowhere in the subtext of these Bible derived soundbites is there mention of personal magnitude. Jesus did not deny his status of King on the day of his crucifixion. He did not deny His correct relationship to God in the place of the wilderness.

“So, Daniel, you are saying we should just remain as we are?”

Why not instead have solidarity with yourself in the ways you have already repented? Connect the individual islands that have ALREADY been altered? Discover why Jesus chose those islands, and why they matter as a unified force – which is the real core of who you are which was built upon the Rock that is Christ.

Drop a line in the contact form at the bottom of the homepage if you need help counterbalancing a sincere heart of repentance with personal solidarity.

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