Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2025
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, 
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”
- Joel 2:12-13 -
As kids, my younger sister and I would often get into disagreements.  There is a three-and-a-half-year age gap between my sister and me.  So, it meant we could be heard bickering over some of the silliest arguments.  When our voices got to a certain volume level, my mom or dad would intervene.  It was escalating quickly, and it would most likely turn into a physical brawl rather quickly if measures weren’t taken.  So, Mom or Dad would break us up.  Then they listened to both my sister and me grumble and complain as we tried to explain our side of the situation.  After listening to both sides, our mom or dad would settle the dispute.   “Theresa, tell your sister you’re sorry.”  I’d mumble “Sorry” while glaring at my sister.  My sister would return the same apology with the same muttering and glaring.  Mom or Dad would then tell us to go, play, and get along with one another.  We’d stomp out of the room, no more reconciled than when we’d begun the argument.
My sister and I were not displaying true repentance or reconciliation.  As an adult, I understand that reconciliation can’t happen without truly feeling sorry and genuine repentance.  In Bible days, people expressed sorrow by tearing (rending) their clothes. Everyone who saw them knew they were grieving.  If someone wanted to demonstrate their repentance and sorrow over their sin, they would publicly tear their clothes. However, the outward display didn’t always mean they were sincerely repentant in their heart.  Much like when I muttered “I’m sorry” to my sister, it wasn’t sincere.  When we sin against God and others, God’s Word insists outward sorrow isn’t enough. We must mean it on the inside.
So, what is the appropriate response to sin?  The spiritually proper response to sin is a rending of our hearts— seeing our sin as God sees it—and humbling ourselves in confession and repentance. “Return to the Lord your God,” Joel 2:13 reads, “for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  Confession and repentance don’t restore our salvation, because Christ’s death on the cross settled that forever. Instead, they restore the relationship we enjoyed with God before sin interrupted our fellowship.
So, the next time we sin against God, may we pause to reflect on why we did it and how it affected God.  Then, take a moment to pray, confessing your sin to God and asking for his forgiveness.  Rend your heart, not your garment, because when you do, God’s steadfast love and patience will surround you in forgiveness and restoration.
Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2025
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, 
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”
- Joel 2:12-13 -
As kids, my younger sister and I would often get into disagreements.  There is a three-and-a-half-year age gap between my sister and me.  So, it meant we could be heard bickering over some of the silliest arguments.  When our voices got to a certain volume level, my mom or dad would intervene.  It was escalating quickly, and it would most likely turn into a physical brawl rather quickly if measures weren’t taken.  So, Mom or Dad would break us up.  Then they listened to both my sister and me grumble and complain as we tried to explain our side of the situation.  After listening to both sides, our mom or dad would settle the dispute.   “Theresa, tell your sister you’re sorry.”  I’d mumble “Sorry” while glaring at my sister.  My sister would return the same apology with the same muttering and glaring.  Mom or Dad would then tell us to go, play, and get along with one another.  We’d stomp out of the room, no more reconciled than when we’d begun the argument.
My sister and I were not displaying true repentance or reconciliation.  As an adult, I understand that reconciliation can’t happen without truly feeling sorry and genuine repentance.  In Bible days, people expressed sorrow by tearing (rending) their clothes. Everyone who saw them knew they were grieving.  If someone wanted to demonstrate their repentance and sorrow over their sin, they would publicly tear their clothes. However, the outward display didn’t always mean they were sincerely repentant in their heart.  Much like when I muttered “I’m sorry” to my sister, it wasn’t sincere.  When we sin against God and others, God’s Word insists outward sorrow isn’t enough. We must mean it on the inside.
So, what is the appropriate response to sin?  The spiritually proper response to sin is a rending of our hearts— seeing our sin as God sees it—and humbling ourselves in confession and repentance. “Return to the Lord your God,” Joel 2:13 reads, “for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  Confession and repentance don’t restore our salvation, because Christ’s death on the cross settled that forever. Instead, they restore the relationship we enjoyed with God before sin interrupted our fellowship.
So, the next time we sin against God, may we pause to reflect on why we did it and how it affected God.  Then, take a moment to pray, confessing your sin to God and asking for his forgiveness.  Rend your heart, not your garment, because when you do, God’s steadfast love and patience will surround you in forgiveness and restoration.