Constant Change

               “And the Lord turned and looked at ______.  And ______ remembered the saying of the Lord, how he has said to ______, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’  And ______ went out and wept bitterly.”  (Luke 22:61-62)  I would like to challenge each of us to fill in those blanks with our own name.  Each of us has at some time denied Christ, whether in our actions, our words, or the secret intentions of our heart.  Each of us is guilty of the sin that sent him to die (Rom. 3:23).  How would it feel to meet the eyes of our Lord, knowing this?

               Repentance is often thought of as something we do when we first become a Christian.  We know it is one of the steps to salvation, and that is entirely correct.  Repentance is vital to our salvation (Acts 2:38).  However, that does not only apply to when we first make that choice to follow Christ.  Each and every day of our lives, we should be seeking repentance… change!  Change is something we need constantly in order to correct our path so we can continue to follow the straight and narrow, so that we can continue to enjoy the promise of salvation and an eternity with God (2 Cor. 7:10).

               This is what Paul was talking about when he made the analogy with being an athlete.  He said, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”  Repentance, or change, is an important part of being a Christian.  We each need it, in order to obtain that imperishable reward.  It is also through this daily habit of changing to follow Christ that we may be able to meet his eyes someday and not be ashamed, but rejoice.