When we repent, we will not meet a God who is putting us on spiritual probation.…We will not encounter a God who demands some kind of repayment for all we have squandered. Nothing like that. Only kindness. Grace. Love. Acceptance.

Martin Luther once wrote, ““When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” To put it another way, repentance is not just a one time act but instead a continual rhythm in the life of the Christian. Yes, it’s true that the means by which we enter into right relationship with God is by repentance and belief, but we don’t leave that practice behind.

Every day, the Christian is repenting. We are continually recognizing our sin, and turning from it toward Christ.

That might not seem like good news to you. After all, who wants to live a life in which every day you find something else you need to be sorry for? Some thought or act you need to stop? Some impulse you once practiced without even thinking about but now must deny?

But this call to repentance is not bad news; it’s good news. And here are three reasons why:

1. Repentance means the Holy Spirit is real.

At one point or another, every Christian probably looks around him or herself and wonders, Is this real?

Is my faith genuine? And are the things I believe in actually, really true? The inward call to repentance is one of the ways we answer that question. When we feel the conviction of sin and the call to repent, it’s a reminder that the Holy Spirit is real and is dwelling inside of us. Why, apart from His ongoing presence in our lives, would we actively recognize all the ways in which we are wrong and choose to turn from them? Why would we live in a posture of self-denial unless the Holy Spirit was actually at work inside of us? This is what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do:

“Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment…” (John 16:7-8).

2. Repentance means God loves us.

When we think of repentance, we usually think in terms of stopping. Stopping a thought. Stopping a desire. Stopping an action. And while that is a component of what it means to repent, repentance doesn’t stop there. To repent means to turn.

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