With the fullness of God, we are free to let humans be humans—fickle and fragile and forgetful.
Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely
Lysa TerKeurst
Category: FORGIVENESS & REPENTANCE
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For inner healing to occur, two very important components are needed. One is forgiveness, and the other is reconciliation. Without these two, the inner healing process cannot be completed. Many people say, “Let me calm down first, recover a little, and then I will forgive and reconcile.” This is exactly like someone saying, “Let me heal first, and then I will take the medicine.” This does not work. This is the reason the Lord Jesus, while in the midst of His pain on the cross, did not say, “Give Me some time to calm down and then I will forgive,” but rather said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).
INNER HEALING
H.E. Metropolitan Youssef -
There is no objection to having old friends if you can attract them to repentance with you. If you cannot, then let your relationship with them be superficial. If they are dangerous to you, then you should prefer your relationship to God over your relationship to them. Even if you encounter difficulty, bear it for the sake of the Lord. Remember what Abram the father of fathers did when the Lord called him. He left his family, kindred, and country to walk behind God (Genesis 12.1). Likewise, in order to preserve your repentance for the sake of God, you leave all who hinder you.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
In his heart, he knows those of whom it was said that they were “light.” The righteous person is light, of whom the Lord said: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5.14). If such a person is in any place, darkness disappears because of his light. It is as if a lamp were placed in a dark place, so that darkness is dispersed and the place becomes luminous. The same thing happens with the presence of the righteous in any place they stay; light spread and darkness disappears.
Similarly, with the saints, because of their spiritual reverence, darkness can find no opportunity for itself in their presence. Sinners are embarrassed to be around them on account of their dignity and holiness. No one dares in their presence to act in a degrading way, or say a bad word, but rather he is ashamed of himself and his conduct. The people present feel that a spiritual atmosphere has prevailed in that place as a result of the presence of one of these righteous people. If there was a sinful talk before their entrance, it stops, and everyone is quiet and the darkness disappears when they enter. No one can sin in their presence.
Are you the same? Have you become light after your repentance? Have you become even a small candle, giving dim light but in any case dispersing darkness? If you have not become such a light, then be very cautious of darkness. Remember at all times the saying of the Lord: “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” (Luke 12.35).
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
Each of us, then, should be cautious. If you have repented, then listen to this advice: It is not enough to come out of Sodom, if you do not continue to Zoar. Lot’s wife came out of Sodom, with her hand in the hand of the angel. She was not burned with the burning city. She did not, however, continue walking with God, but looked back (Genesis 19.16). She perished by one look. How terrifying!
Be cautious, then, about looking behind you. Think no longer about the world you left for the sake of the Lord. Do not try to remember the pleasures of sin from which you repented. Do not in any way look back, but rather “stretch forward.” Try to grow in your repentance without returning to sin.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
Whoever repents, bearing his disgrace, accepts two types of punishment. The first type is the punishment he inflicts on himself, whether by bitter reprimand or by forbidding himself from things he loves, so that he renounces this world he previously loved. The second type is all of the punishments that come to him from the outside, whether from God or from other people. He accepts all of these punishments with satisfaction, without grumbling or complaining. He is convicted by them and feels that they are less than what he deserves.
Even those punishments which afflict him unjustly he also accepts with satisfaction, like what happened to Saint Ephraim the Syrian. He was imprisoned once unjustly, so he accepted this and said that he deserved it for an old sin which had no relation to this matter.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
During the confession the penitent should neither justify nor defend himself, nor place the responsibility for his errors on others, nor transform the confession into a complaint. If those things are done, confession loses its meaning as a sign of repentance and one of its components.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity -
Millions of people who are in hell wish for a few moments of life, which you have—just a few moments in which to repent—but cannot find them. They have lost the chance, and the door has been closed. How about you, my brother? You have all of this life, why do you not think about repentance, and grab the chance? As the apostle said: “Walk circumspectly….redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5.16).
Know that the postponement of repentance is one of the works of the devil, who does not want repentance. He knows that keeping you from repentance in a direct way is something your conscience will not accept. Therefore, he will never say to you, “Do not repent,” and yet every time your heart moves toward God, he will say to you, “That’s okay, but not now. We have many chances before us.” He then keeps leading you in a series of never-ending postponements until your life ends.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity
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But as for you, if grace visits you, do not be content merely with being convinced. For what benefit do you receive from being convinced your way is sinful, unless you overcome and change this way in practice? Do not let the visitation of grace work in your mind alone, or in your heart only; it must work in your will also, so that you will arise and act accordingly.
—H.H. Pope Shenouda III, The Life of Repentance and Purity
