Mirror or Window?
Dan Kunz
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of conducting the Bible Study for our local Campus Ministry. The pastor who runs the ministry was going to be out of town and asked if I could fill in for him. Since I taught high school for over twenty years, I was delighted to gather with a bunch of young people. Our topic for the night was “Repentance”. The way this Bible Study is conducted, a lot of questions are encouraged. It’s always a little intimidating for the leader (you hope you have the right answers), but the students enjoy it and seem to benefit. Although a number of good questions arose, the best was from a college senior who asked a heartfelt question. “How do you balance remorse and forgiveness?” It was a very legitimate question, since we were discussing repentance.
God’s people from the beginning of time have probably wrestled with that question. As sinful human beings, we acknowledge our sin and feel sorrowful. We transgress against the very God who loves us and sent his Son into the world to pay the price for that sin. That being said, we also need to get beyond the remorse to accept the forgiveness which God freely offers through his Son. When I asked the students to name someone from the Bible who never got beyond the remorse, Judas’ name was quickly raised. Remorse alone, doesn’t do anyone any good. At some point, you must get beyond remorse.
That’s when I brought up the “mirror” and the “window”. It’s a thought which popped into my mind a few weeks ago. If all you do is look in the mirror, all you’ll see is the “chief of sinners”, the person whose sin makes him or her unfit to stand in the presence of the holy, almighty Creator of the universe! That’s where the window comes in. If, instead of looking only at the mirror, you turn your gaze out the window and see the cross on the hilltop, you’ll see the reason God has forgiven your sin and welcomed you back into his family. Just as the father of the “prodigal son” who ran out to meet his wayward son and threw a party because the one who was dead was now alive, the Heavenly Father feels the exact same way about you! Isn’t that amazing? Too good to be true? Absolutely, but true it is!
Every time we sin, which is daily, if not hourly, we should feel remorse and ask God for forgiveness, even for sins we don’t remember committing. But don’t get caught dwelling on the mirror. Look out the window and see the cross! With a love which only a father (or mother) can understand, God has chosen to forgive us. He didn’t have to. He chose to. When God forgave us for the sake of his Son, we became, once again, part of his family. He has cast our sins away, as far as the east is from the west. To be sure, we will sin again, it’s part of our nature. Repentance includes making every attempt to live according to God’s will. I pointed out to my young friends at Bible Study having a plan to avoid those sins in the future is critical. Even with a plan, we may very well commit that sin again. Look in the mirror, but then look out the window! 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.