SARAH KROGER: LENT SERIES (REPENTANCE)
Sarah Kroger invites us into a soothing time of reflection, worship and prayer during the time of Lent.
Week Two
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15)
At the beginning of the pandemic, I struggled with feelings of helplessness. How can I make a difference in a world that feels like chaos has become the norm? I’ve taken to heart something Mother Teresa once said:
“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”
This isn’t a cop out. It’s not sidestepping the call to mission. In fact, it might be the most difficult mission there is. Loving is hard because the people around us are imperfect… and so are we. Sin is a wound. It wounds both us and our neighbor. Paul says, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Sin brings death, and we were made for abundant life. One of the reasons there is so much suffering in our world today is because all of us have been wounded by our sin. So many of us turn into wounded wounders, perpetuating the cycle.
If I want to pour out God’s love wherever I go, I need to make sure my own cup isn’t cracked and leaking. In His kindness, the Lord reminded me in prayer that making a difference starts in my heart. Changing the world starts with letting God change me, having the self-awareness to repent daily, to turn away from sin, and strive to sin no more.
Here are some practical tips…
1. Daily examination of conscience. I like to reflect on these questions before bed: How did I love myself and others well today? How did I fail to love? How can you do better tomorrow? Not only does this train my heart to be more vigilant during the day, it helps me become aware of my hurtful, sinful, or simply unhealthy patterns and break them.
2. Apologize to those you’ve hurt. This sounds basic, but we tend to avoid this like the plague. It is a humbling thing to ask someone for forgiveness, but God’s children deserve it. Our Jewish brothers and sisters have a practice of apologizing to their neighbor before apologizing to God Himself. They can’t get right with God before they try to get right with the child of God they’ve hurt. So, when you feel you’ve harmed someone, consider asking for their forgiveness.
Repentance leads us to humility. It’s a recognition that we can’t do life on our own. We are sinners in need of mercy. And thanks be to God, His mercy is new with each rising of the sun. Through the gift of repentance, we inch ourselves closer to becoming more like Christ: Wounded healers.
Sarah Kroger
