This is a reminder that oftentimes the Christian life involves living life in a direction that goes against popular opinion, popular ideology, popular thinking, or popular behavior.
For example, the Christian is asked to believe in a God who created the world in a mere six days, whereas popular university thinking would have us accept the idea of a world evolved by chance.
For example, the Christian is instructed in the Bible to avoid a whole variety of immoral life-style choices, whereas modern mores have shifted to accept a wide variety of behavioral patterns that a few years ago were considered taboo.
As I was reading Psalm 7:12 this morning I was struck by the fact that it pulls no punches: “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow.” The Lutheran Study Bible comments on this verse: “God’s Word turns our thoughts back to Him. The first step in repentance is acknowledging the truth of what God has told us about ourselves: we are conceived and born sinful creatures in dire need of God’s mercy.”
It would seem that God takes sin seriously and we are strongly encouraged to live a life of repentance.
Remember, the whole idea behind repentance is to “turn around” and go in a different direction; God’s direction, where forgiveness and mercy can be found.
As a person repents of his or her sin, there is movement in a different direction - like the one fish in a larger school. And the interesting thing about watching a school of fish is that when one fish turns, sometimes they all turn!
In Christ Jesus.
Pastor John Kassen
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