"It's the kindness of God that leads to repentance", Paul says, in his letter to the Romans. This wonderful phrase has swirled through my mind over the years. Repentance comes from the Greek metanoia which means "change of mind". Paul is telling his listeners (and us) that when God acts kindly toward us -when He doesn't hit us with a lightning bolt in the midst of our sinfulness, or ask us to pay up when we don't have the means to do so, when She continues to extend grace when we don't deserve it, and lovingly bears our burdens- that this kindness should make a profound impact on our way of thinking. It should lead us to a change of mind - an embracing of the way that God sees the world and a desire to be a part of God's Kingdom.
My youngest daughter, Dorea, is an actor. This summer she was posed with a difficult decision. A director offered her a part in a fall production, but the show dates fell over the wedding of a friend. She weighed the options: say 'yes' to the show (her friend, also in the theater business, would understand and it's important to take advantage of opportunities in this area); say 'no' to the show (a friend only gets married once and other parts will come along). None of us ever imagined a third solution- the director could change the dates of the show so that there wouldn't be a conflict. But that's what happened. The director, hearing of her dilemma, offered to ask the cast if they would flex on the dates and the conflict was resolved.
The kindness of this act had a profound effect on me. I was truly amazed. You mean it might be possible to have it all?, I asked myself. That there are people willing to come up with creative solutions and flex so that you don't have to say 'no' to two worthwhile things? Perhaps I could hope for and even work toward a way of life that sometimes seems too good to be true.
This change of mind is what God desires for us. To be able to imagine with Him the world that He has created functioning in the way it was created to be. To not only see it as a possibility, but to live like it's true. And in as many ways as we are able, to make it true for ourselves and those around us.
My youngest daughter, Dorea, is an actor. This summer she was posed with a difficult decision. A director offered her a part in a fall production, but the show dates fell over the wedding of a friend. She weighed the options: say 'yes' to the show (her friend, also in the theater business, would understand and it's important to take advantage of opportunities in this area); say 'no' to the show (a friend only gets married once and other parts will come along). None of us ever imagined a third solution- the director could change the dates of the show so that there wouldn't be a conflict. But that's what happened. The director, hearing of her dilemma, offered to ask the cast if they would flex on the dates and the conflict was resolved.
The kindness of this act had a profound effect on me. I was truly amazed. You mean it might be possible to have it all?, I asked myself. That there are people willing to come up with creative solutions and flex so that you don't have to say 'no' to two worthwhile things? Perhaps I could hope for and even work toward a way of life that sometimes seems too good to be true.
This change of mind is what God desires for us. To be able to imagine with Him the world that He has created functioning in the way it was created to be. To not only see it as a possibility, but to live like it's true. And in as many ways as we are able, to make it true for ourselves and those around us.
