This picture of my girls and their friend makes me think about where we sometimes find ourselves in our battle with sin.
In my last post, I talked about “wrestling the crocodile”—resisting temptation and fighting against sin.
Sometimes we put up a real fight and still give in. And sometimes, let’s be honest, we give in without much of a fight at all.
So what do we do when we find ourselves there?
A few years ago, I shared a post that said:
─── ✦ ───
Religion: “I messed up. My Dad is gonna kill me.”
Gospel: “I messed up. I need to call my Dad.”
─── ✦ ───
That contrast has stayed with me.
There’s something about knowing you’re loved like that. Even when you’ve messed up, home is the place you most want to run to.
Jesus gave us such a tender picture of that welcome in Luke 15.
A son had taken his inheritance, left home, and squandered it. When he came to his senses, he headed home, ready to confess what he’d done.
While he was still a long way off, his father saw him. Filled with compassion, he ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him.
The son was coming home, and his father was already moving toward him.
When we belong to Jesus, this is the Father we get to come home to. Close. Attentive. Merciful. Loving.
And that’s who we’re turning toward in repentance.
Repentance sometimes gets a bad rap. It can sound like a heavy, dreadful word. But consider the relief it can bring.
Like coming up for air after holding your breath.
Like a cold drink of water on a scorching day.
📖 In Acts 3:19, Peter calls people to repent and turn to God, connecting forgiveness with “times of refreshing” from the Lord.
Refreshing. That’s a word we don’t always associate with repentance.
And that invitation to turn is at the heart of what repentance means:
↩️ A change of mind that leads to a change of direction—turning from sin toward God.
We agree with Him about what we did wrong and turn toward obedience. Where we’ve hurt someone, that includes owning what we did and taking steps to make it right.
Facing our sin can be painful. But we can be honest with the One who already knows—and loves us.
We don’t have to hide, make excuses, or clean ourselves up before approaching Him.
“Father, that was wrong. Please forgive me. Help me turn from it and walk in Your way.”
And there’s relief in coming to Him honestly and humbly.
After we took this photo, we hosed the girls off outside, then brought them in for a bath. Seeing them washed clean and dressed in fresh clothes gives me a little glimpse of the relief that comes with confession and forgiveness.
📖 First John 1:9 assures us that when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness.
We come to Him. He does the cleansing.
That cleansing is possible because of what Jesus has done for us—not because we’ve punished ourselves enough or managed to clean ourselves up.
His grace gives us the confidence to come home—even when we have a confession to make…
“I messed up. I need to call my Dad.”
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