Sorry guys, but you aren’t the type of action hero I am looking for this week.
While I concede that “hero” and “repentance” aren’t words that are normally found together in a sentence, it is my position that they should be.
In fact, I believe the best, most true kind of repentance requires heroic action.
Allow me to explain.
A hero is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities”. While the commission of sin is never admirable and should never be applauded, admitting our faults and failures and taking action to turn from them most certainly should be applauded. The honest person who is most open about their failures and reliance on God is the person that God can most use for His glory. And I can certainly admire a person like that!
True repentance requires action. Sometimes it requires heroic action. True repentance isn’t just feeling bad about sin or even admitting that we have made a mistake. True repentance turns away from the sin and the mistake and moves in the completely opposite direction. Nothing shows God that we are more serious about walking with Him than when we turn away from sin and start living our lives differently.
Here is what true repentance looks like in real life: If I know that I have wronged someone I go to that person and admit that I have wrong them and ask for their forgiveness. If I know that I am tempted by lustful thoughts when viewing certain TV shows or movies, I no longer watch those TV shows or movies. If too much time spent on social media sites and internet gaming is interfering with my walk with God, then I reduce or eliminate my exposure to those things until Jesus is first in my life again.
True repentance always, always, always requires us to act differently. It may start with a realization and conviction by the Holy Spirit and it should involve confession; absolutely. But until there is a motion made by us to cease our sin and to turn away from it, our repentance is not complete.
Do you want freedom from sin and to overcome that which binds you? Then start to act differently. God has a way of taking our small, stumbling steps made in weakness and amplifying them with His strength until we are taking great, God sized strides over and through our previous mistakes.
But it must start with our first step. It must begin with a heroic effort on our part to really want to change and be different. Show the Lord that you are serious and take action. Engage yourself in action hero repentance and watch as God works a miracle in your life.