Repentance and Love

Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.


A broken and contrite heart- Repentance?


What is repentance- the Greek definition is...

metanoeo
met-an-o-eh'-o
From G3326 and G3539; to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.

Which leads us to ask, what is compunction- (sure we might know but it bears getting an official answer right?)
compunction

compunction (kem-pùngk´shen) noun
1. A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt.
2. A sting of conscience or a pang of doubt aroused by wrongdoing or the prospect of wrongdoing.


When David wrote 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.' he knew that ultimately God didn't desire burnt offerings and such as a sacrifice. The burnt offerings were symbolic and meant to get His people to realize that God is worthy and the only God to worship, as well as realizing without God we have no hope. God alone can forgive our sins, and it's to Him we must go. To go to God with a broken spirit and a contrite heart is to recognize that He alone reigns and we need to place ourselves completely in His hands. We need to realize that only IN Him do we truly live. We only flounder when we are not in God's hands. Does that mean we'll have no problems once we place ourselves in God's hands? NOoooooooooooo, those who believe that are setting themselves up to fall. It means we have a surety, a hope beyond our lives here and now. God is our Creator, and our Redeemer. The redemption will be fully experienced when Christ comes again and not before. It is the HOPE of life with Christ that we put before us, it is the prize at the end of the race we are running. We have to expect that the race will be a treacherous one filled with many, many obstacles. We also have to know that God wants true repentance. God wants us to realize our guilt and to turn from it. God wants us to repent and recognize our need.


Here's what Jesus had to say-

Mar 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mar 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.


More than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifice God would have us love, know love, know Him, to understand our need of Him in all we do. To love God and to love others this is truly what God wills. Maybe people think it silly - the old 60's peace movement, the Beatles song - 'All You Need Is Love', but honestly there was a bit of truth buried beneath the free and easy sex and drugs. Peace and love, we are more used to arguing and proving ourselves right and someone else wrong, standing up for ourselves which we call number one and so on. True love, God's love, the love we are to have for God and others is what it's truly all about.


God is love.


1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love.


With our broken and contrite spirits, realizing how far we are from being what God would have us to be, let us seek forgiveness and repent. Let us turn from our sins and turn to God, finding in Him all we need in life. May the love of God fill us and by the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior may we love.


In Christ, now and forever.


Amen