Repentance – The Lawn Mower Of Our Lives

Repentance – The Lawn Mower Of Our Lives

Posted on 11:50 AM by Unknown | 2 comments

Written by Devon Lawless.

Repentance—what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when this word is said? For many the very mention of the word often makes them shudder.  For others it floods their minds with images of sad, depressed hopeless people confessing their mistakes to god or man in hopes that they will be forgiven.  Ultimately, the latest or greatest mess up of our lives comes back to haunt us.

I would be willing to bet that more people are willing to watch the latest and scariest movies on the market before facing their fears and repenting of their guilt. But is that really how you should feel about repenting?

We should probably first define what repentance is and I can think of no better way of doing so then by quoting a former president of the LDS church, Spencer W. Kimball:

"Sometimes it is easier to define what something is by telling what it is not. Repentance is not repetition of sin. It is not laughing at sin. It is not justification for sin. Repentance is not the hardening of the spiritual arteries. It is not the minimizing of the seriousness of the error. Repentance is not retirement from activity. It is not the closeting of sin to corrode and overburden the sinner. 

True repentance must come to each individual. It cannot be accomplished by proxy. One can neither buy nor borrow nor traffic in it. There is no royal road to repentance. Whether he is a president’s son or a king’s daughter, an emperor’s prince or a lowly peasant, he must himself repent and his repentance must be personal and individual and humble. 

Whether he be lean or fat, handsome or ugly, tall or short, intellectual or less trained, he must change his own life in a real and humble repentance."

So repentance is for everyone. Yes, that means it’s for you too. It doesn’t matter how perfect or imperfect you feel. It doesn’t even matter if you feel like giving up your sins yet because I know that if you give repentance a try you will not regret it. I have discovered that repentance is always scary to start but always results in greater happiness.

Repentance is not just feeling sorry for what you did wrong but it’s a start. It’s not just restoring that which was ruined or lost even though that is in the right direction. It's not just confessing to receive forgiveness from somebody else but you have started to grasp it. It's not just a long drawn out period of fasting, prayer and personal suffering, although this may be necessary for some.

Repentance is change.

I think one of the best scriptures to describe repentance can be found in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

As a Book of Mormon prophet named King Benjamin taught, his people "...all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2)

The Lord Jesus Christ did more for us than a thousand novels could ever contain or express. His sacrifice allows us to become clean and spotless on the outside, but he cannot change who we are without our help. The goal in this life is not just to appear clean on the outside but to feel and be clean on the inside as well. That is why repentance is not just the bleach for our dirty white shirts; it’s also the antibodies for our infected inner selves.

We live in an age where with the swipe of a card and the push of a button we can get almost anything and go almost anywhere in a day. God has not however given us a repentance credit card. Repentance is not like winning the Super Bowl. You don’t do it just once or twice in a life time. Repentance is a process meant to be used every day.

Our lives are like a giant lawn of grass. If you don’t water it, it will die, and if you don’t trim it, it will go wild. Therefore repentance is like lawn mowing. You cannot simply give up and do half the job. Nor can you neglect repenting for too long without consequences, but it is never too late to trim it back down. New sod can be placed where old grass died, and over grown grass can always be trimmed back down. Now I never said it was easy, but, honestly, lawn care takes more constant effort then it does super human strength. Anyone and everyone can repent. You can get your lawn back up to being lush, green and well-trimmed.

It is my testimony that if you want to change, it is not too late. If you want to repent, God is still there and ready to listen. If you want to follow Christ, his arms are outstretched even now waiting to help guide you in the right direction.  I have felt his love and the power of the sacrifice of Christ, also known as His Atonement, in my life. I know that God loves us and so does His son Jesus Christ. We are here on earth to take a journey not to simply find the end, so don’t you EVER think that you are worthless, or too far gone. This is the hardest lesson I have had to learn but it was the most worth it. So don’t stop trying to change your life and follow God’s plan. You may not be near the finish now but each step you take gets you closer.

For more information on the Atonement and Repentance please follow the links below.

Atonement

Repentance