We like to hear a friend say, “Just forget about it,” when we pull some boneheaded move. And very often, nothing more is required. Saying, “It’s okay. Let’s just move on,” works fine much of the time. In some cases, however, we don’t need a way to continue so much as we require a fresh start. Some patterns need to be broken, but they’ll never end if we don’t stop dead in our tracks, name them for what they are, express genuine sorrow for the pain we caused, renounce our sin, and ask for forgiveness.

Did you know repentance is the most positive word in the English language? We usually think of repentance as a sad, dark, and horrible term, when actually it’s the beginning of a new life. It’s leaving the past behind. It’s starting over. Repentance is liberating!

To repent means simply to admit the truth and to start moving in a different direction. Repentance doesn’t mean groveling in the dirt, but rather taking responsibility for our actions and saying, “Yes, I’ve sinned, I’m sorry for it, and by the power of God I intend to start behaving in a healthier way.” The book of Acts in the Bible tells us to do this by “turn[ing] to God and prov[ing our] repentance by [our] deeds.” By expressing our repentance, we can repair our relationships and find a new direction. This new direction will point the way for us to reach our world for Jesus.          

This is Luis Palau.