“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (v. 8)
We get confused about repentance.
Too often, we think of repentance merely in terms of what we are giving up. Turning around from sin means turning around from pleasures. Changing our minds about sin means trying not to enjoy the things we used to. Repentance looks like loss, in our reckoning.
But that is a fundamental confusion.
The believer’s heart doesn’t beat for the things he gives up. It beats for what he gains—and what he gains is intimacy with God. When we turn around from sin and draw near to Him, He draws nearer to us, by grace. You don’t earn His love or His proximity, but you do experience it when you pursue purity. Repentance, then, is the rejection of the world’s things so you can give your heart to Him.
And—here’s the baffling, beautiful, bounteous Good News—He welcomes that. He welcomes you, in Christ. And He meets you there, a relationship with the repentant.
So don’t be confused about repentance. Instead, cherish it.
— Tyler