and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
will he return to her?
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
declares the LORD....
You have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
will he be angry forever…”
“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the LORD.
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
declares the LORD;
I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt…
A voice on the bare heights is heard,
the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the LORD their God.
“Return, O faithless sons;
I will heal your faithlessness…”
“But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God...”
(Jeremiah 3)
~“Return, O faithless sons;
I will heal your faithlessness…”
~ True repentance manifests a residue of shame...
but Christ washes that shame away, just as he knelt and washed the feet of the disciples (even Judas, as well as Peter).. with all humility and gentleness..
demanding forgiveness while refusing to be ashamed for hurting the heart of God and other ppl.. is not true repentance... it is surface repentance, ritual repentance, short-lived repentance.. true repentance involves being truly undone and ashamed.. it changes you, takes your heart to deaths door for the pain you feel for the wrongs you commited..
true repentance will always be met by a loving father who is unafraid to kneel beside us and to put his arm around us and love us, cry with us, stand us up, wipe our tears, put a robe around us and his ring on our finger.. he takes our shame upon himself, throws it on the ground, squashes it with is foot and has us to do the same.
And it is forgotten.. nailed to a cross... as defeated.. a victory won.
Our savior committed no sin, but he is acquainted with shame.
He is acquainted with our sorrows.
And he frees us from that sin and shame and guilt.
but Christ washes that shame away, just as he knelt and washed the feet of the disciples (even Judas, as well as Peter).. with all humility and gentleness..
demanding forgiveness while refusing to be ashamed for hurting the heart of God and other ppl.. is not true repentance... it is surface repentance, ritual repentance, short-lived repentance.. true repentance involves being truly undone and ashamed.. it changes you, takes your heart to deaths door for the pain you feel for the wrongs you commited..
true repentance will always be met by a loving father who is unafraid to kneel beside us and to put his arm around us and love us, cry with us, stand us up, wipe our tears, put a robe around us and his ring on our finger.. he takes our shame upon himself, throws it on the ground, squashes it with is foot and has us to do the same.
And it is forgotten.. nailed to a cross... as defeated.. a victory won.
Our savior committed no sin, but he is acquainted with shame.
He is acquainted with our sorrows.
And he frees us from that sin and shame and guilt.
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