The goal of genuine repentance is restoration. The Psalmist states this truth quite effectively in today's text. "God All-Powerful, take us back. Show us your kindness so we can be saved." (vs7) To be taken back is to find one's self in right relationship once again. In the context of faith, repentance comes after confession of sin. The Psalmist's words remind me of an old hymn I remember singing as a child many years ago. William J. Kirkpatrick's text for verse one and chorus is as follows:
I’ve wandered far away from God,
Now I’m coming home;
The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam,
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home.
To confess my sin and ask God's forgiveness is to ask to be taken back. The cross is a symbol of restoration, a place where the painful work of salvation has been done...a place where forgiveness is born anew...a place where God's arms of love are opened wide. God all-powerful, take me back. Lord, I'm coming home.
Jim Abernathy
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