School

"Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" -Ezekiel 18

School...

It’s that time of year when people are returning to school. The word conjures up all kinds of emotions and
memories...tests, end of summer, anxiety, teachers, childhood....When our daughter was young we would
sometimes meet with her teacher. They would sit us down in little desks made for children, and they would sit in the “teacher’s chair.” We instantly were transported emotionally to the days when we were little children in front of the teacher. A clever tactic on their part, but it didn’t create the right emotion for adults coming to meet as partners with the teacher for our child. I know a number of teachers. They are generally well intended and have the welfare of the children in their class as the foremost concern. I had the wrong reaction to the stimulation of sitting in that little chair in front of the teacher. I had to learn to repent from this emotion. It was right when I was a child, but not appropriate for my life any longer.

Repent is a word we often associate with religion, but it simply means to turn around or to consider the changes needed for a healthy life and act upon them. We have many good messages from our past like, “look both ways before crossing the road,” “reserve Sunday morning for church” or “if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” But we also have messages and memories that need to be reconsidered. Learning from history is not the same as responding to today with a conditioned response from the past. Repentance calls us to consider, and change to what we need to be.

Sin is when we work against God’s design for a healthy life and relationship with God and with others. Sometimes we sit down and consider a sinful approach and take it. However, far too often we act without thinking. Something stimulates us and we react instinctively....and we react sinfully because we do not consider the results of our actions. Just because we didn’t intentionally sin, doesn’t mean the pain and brokenness of sin won’t happen. If we are experiencing the wrong results, we are operating with the wrong input. Repentance calls us to think, consider, and turn toward God...and live....with a new heart, and a new spirit.

I have noticed most parent teacher conferences occur in a conference room these days or the teacher will also sit in the little chair so they see eye to eye with the parents. They repented, and it leads to such a better relationship and response from parents. Little things we do instinctively may not seem to matter, but they can have a huge effect on our lives. A healthy life is one that has been examined so that we keep the good responses, and repent of the broken, sinful ones.

Repent and live,
Pastor Tom

(Reserve Sunday morning for church...or Saturday evening, if you prefer)