By Canaan Chapman
Today’s readings are an overwhelming comfort for those who are repentant on the other side of sin’s grief. I wasn’t sure how to write this reflection, but what I found coming out was a letter. It’s for you, for me, for those who won’t repent but need to, and for those who have repented but still bear the burden of shame.
Friend,
I’m not sure how much I like the dance between sorrow and elation—between the shame and guilt in acknowledging failings and then turning to celebration in the arms of God’s grace—but let me in, because we need to talk. These things I say aren’t to condemn you but to encourage you—even in pain, yours and mine.
We don’t often take the chance to have uncomfortable conversations. It’s not often someone like me gets a chance to share about this topic with someone like you. This is uncomfortable, and I’m sorry for that. It’s hard for me too. I take comfort in the truth of God’s Word here and have complete confidence in you. Can you take any comfort in that? Can I humbly ask that you have the same confidence in me?
First, let me confess my sins to you so I don’t linger in the land of unforgiveness. I, too, fall short, as we all do, and I also love you—God’s taught me how to do that. In this act of humility, there’s a grace that comforts and strength to stand against the conflict. The path of repentance is the path to refreshing, to rejuvenation, and ultimately, to rejoicing. And we know God is not a God of perpetual sorrow but of boundless joy! Scripture says, “when the righteous flourish, the people rejoice” (Proverbs 29:2), and that righteousness has nothing to do with age or experience.
This is how Paul’s letter challenges us to think: “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret” (2Corinthians 7:10). Can we rejoice together through our grief? I’m with you and for you. Let’s rejoice, not because we were grieved, but because our grief led to repentance (v.9).
The call to repentance in Acts 3:19–20 echoes, “Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah.” It’s a call for each of us to lay down our burdens of guilt and embrace the times of refreshing promised by our loving Father, our Savior.
Together, can we find the courage to confront what’s in our hearts, to lament our wrongdoings, and to turn toward the healing and redeeming love of God? It’s a journey worth taking, one that leads us into the embrace of joy beyond all comprehension.
Your loving, contrite, and hopeful brother,
Canaan
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