Reflections on Israel - Joel 2:12-13

Joel 2:12-14 (ESV)

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

    “return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

13     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.

These images and verses explains repentance in a new way for me. Repentance is turning from your old ways, the sin that you committed and making a full 180 degree turn. Though, most of us only do this with our outer selves. To tear our "garments" so to speak. To show others your outward shame but without making a true repentance form your sins. And when the next opportunity arrives, you will just go right back to your old self, your old ways. This is not where true repentance lies. 

What God wants from us is not to seek repentance by just showing it to everyone around, but to rend our hearts, to break down in tears towards God for what we have done. This is where true repentance lies. It is turning towards God in our pain and sin, and not to seek it from the outward repentance we try to show to others without a true heart change. We should seek for forgiveness from our wrongs,but to do so knowing that we sinned against God first and foremost. 

As Psalm 51:3-4 says:

3 For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight, 

 In Jesus there is no condemnation since we have been forgiven for our sins. Though,we should never take lightly any sin we do. We should be truly humbled by our faults and the knowledge in knowing that without Jesus we are without hope. To repent with the knowledge that God loves us and chooses to see us as perfect even through the mistakes we make because of the blood that Christ shed on the cross for our sins. This will allow us to stand up and move forward with the knowledge that we can continue to grow and keep following in our Rabbi's footsteps. So rend your hearts unto God and not your garments.