The Joy of Repentance
Do you realize that the angels are rooting for you?
Verse of the Day
“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.””
Today’s Devotional
This verse comes at the end of the parable of the lost coin: ““Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.””
I’ll admit that I never really understood this parable until I studied it and read several commentaries. The “coin” is a lost soul. A coin has a stamp of the image of the king. Each soul on this planet has the image of our King. It’s interesting that this coin is lost IN THE HOUSE, as opposed to the lost sheep, who wandered away from the herd. This tells me that even people who are saved can be lost in their sin, without actually losing their salvation. I’ve been there, so I know it’s possible (though I don’t recommend it). The “light” is Jesus, the “sweeping” is using any tool necessary and available, and the careful searching is a symbol of God’s relentless pursuit of our heart.
Even with the nine coins in hand, the lost coin is valuable. It is worth finding. So even when I’m attending church and professing faith, but I’m trapped in sin – Jesus is searching for that hidden part of my heart in order to free me. To bring me back into the light.
And let’s be clear, when the Light finally shines on a dark part of my heart, it might feel painful. But it is SO WORTH THE PAIN. Just as a bone that has been broken is stronger after it heals, so are your heart and faith stronger after healing from brokenness that has been hiding in the dark.
When THAT happens, the joy in heaven is REAL. Imagine with me for a second. Imagine that you are out in the woods with your family, and one of your kids goes missing. And you look for that child for hours. Then, at last, you find your child. She is injured, but not in a life threatening way and she will certainly heal. Can you summon the feeling of JOY you would have when you finally had your arms wrapped around your daughter? That’s how the angels react when we finally recognize sin in our life and repent. We are found! I don’t know about you, but there is something really heart warming about the angels in heaven rooting for me.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you know that you have the image of your King stamped on you?
Are you willing for Jesus to find and recover any dark parts of your heart?
How do you react when someone repents? Are you joyful? Or do you have an attitude of “I hope that sticks….”.
Think of a sin that you have repented from. Rejoice with the angels today for your freedom in that area.
And bravely ask Jesus to reveal the next dark corner of your heart that He is ready to heal.