In the last post I explored the concept of repentance and the significance of its presence for sorrow to be deemed Godly (You can see this post here). Repentance is as much a condition of the heart as it is an action to turn away from sin. In today’s Bible verse, brokenness and repentance as heart conditions are not only asserted, the verse posits what God does with the person who has such a heart.
“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
Psalm 51:17 (NLT)
We learn that God will not reject a person who has a broken and repentant heart. God will not reject people who are actively turning away from their sin.
Inversely, God will reject people with a hardened or unchanged heart. God rejects people who do not turn away from their sin.
This is hard for many people to hear and thus unpopular.
God will reject some people.
But He doesn’t do this without fair warning.
Throughout history, God has always provided the rules we must live by. And patiently He provided warning after warning of the consequences if we choose to go our own way.
King David authored this Psalm (and many others), which means the “people” referred to in this verse are followers of God. To me this verse serves as a reminder to all followers of Jesus, that we cannot rest on our laurels because we feel secure in our salvation. God requires a repentant heart for salvation. Gaining admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven is wonderful and every salvation story is reason for celebration.
But our part doesn’t end there.
God will want to grow us into the image of His Son Jesus. To do this, God requires a repentant heart for our continued walk with the Lord. Walking with the Lord is our journey of continual spiritual growth. And on this journey, we are either getting closer to the Lord or farther.
How’s your walk with the Lord? Are you getting closer to Jesus? Or are getting farther from Him?
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