Repent .
What a burdensome, hard word. Maybe it means you can’t be who you want to be, and do what you want to do. Maybe it implies that you can’t be who you (think you) are. Maybe it seems unfair, because you will have to give up something that you think you really enjoy.
We have been conditioned by our permissive society to think that repentance is a burden. When some read that Jesus said a man should deny himself, and take up his cross daily in order to follow Him (Luke 9:23), they mistakenly associate that cross with some unbearable burden of self denial and repentance. They think it is too hard. In fact, maybe it’s too hard to even bother with living like a Christian at all.
“The real burden isn’t repentance... the real burden is sin.”
But the real burden isn’t repentance. That’s a deceptive idea that Satan has spread, because it works in his own interests. When you think of repentance as an unbearable burden, you are playing into his hand. The real burden that holds you back is sin (cf. Hebrews 12:1). Guilt weighs far more on your back than repentance ever can.
Jesus calls all those who are “weary and heavy laden” to come to him (Matthew 11:28, NASB). Jesus promises that his yoke of service is more comfortable, and light in comparison to what you have been suffering from (Matthew 11:30).
John the Apostle also wrote that to love God means to obey His commandments (1 John 5:3). He then added that to obey God’s commands is not a burdensome nor grievous thing.
You see, turning away from the controlling influence of sin (i.e., repentance) to the living God’s Will for your life, expressed in the Bible, is actually good for you! While the self control aspect of repentance might be hard sometimes, it is not a burden. The life of the righteous is a much more peaceful, joy filled, lighter life than the life of the wicked.
Remember, Jesus promised Christians an abundant life (John 10:10). On the contrary, Satan through society at large wants you to think that God is repressing you, that he is holding you back from being all that you could be. Satan told the same lies to Eve in Genesis 3:1-5. When Adam and Eve “bit,” they soon realized that the burden from the consequences was greater in listening to Satan than obeying God (cf. Genesis 3:17-19).
God isn’t your enemy; Satan is. Jesus is your friend, if you will do what he says (John 15:14). What they want is for you to repent of sin, to turn your mind and actions away from sin, and toward God (2 Peter 3:9).
While Satan wants you to think that God wants your life to be bitter, the truth is that God wants your life to be better. That’s why repentance is good for you!
-Daniel
“Remember, Jesus promised Christians an abundant life (John 10:10).”
Credit to Phil Sanders for a statement he made at the Western Kentucky Area Wide Gospel Meeting which inspired this article - “Repentance is good for you.”
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