I choose my own way.
A strong will drives me, and no matter how hard I try to hide my deceptive ways, God sees through every aspect into the depths of my heart. Only the act of surrendering my heart, mind, and soul in repentance is my chance for renewal. Every thought of striving, controlling, planning, predicting, arranging, and scheming must be relinquished.
Remorse is moral anguish arising from repentance for past misdeeds; bitter regret. Remorse opens the heart to God. To experience remorsefulness is painful, but later gratefulness will come. Repentance will allow your heart to be softened toward God and those around you.
- Repentance is my only hope in a struggle against bitterness.
- Repentance is my only hope against the hardening my heart.
- In a repentant life, everything that separates me from the love of God must melt away, no matter how painful.
"Everything is possible if we put ourselves willingly under the light of God. But if we refuse to do this, everything in our life is in danger."
(J. Heinrich Arnold 13)
(J. Heinrich Arnold 13)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
As I think back over your last few month's heart notes I want to ask. . .
ReplyDeleteIs remorse inevitable in the liminal space.
Is it neccessary to repent and experience remorse to move out of the threshold? Is it lack of remorse that keeps us in the threshold or can even lead us to retreat back to the previous "room"?
I made a comment to another friend that this liminal space is refered to by some as the place almost constant in a Christian's life and that seemed like torture.
The space is not the torture. Refusing to repent or embrasing remores. Maybe this is the torture.
M
Would repentance evoke negative thoughts if we thought of repentance as a "coming home" to the heart of God?
ReplyDeleteUnderstandably there can be, should be, remorse in the fact that we move away from God's heart. But how might we explore celebration in repentance?
I Like your thought Jill.
ReplyDeleteThe physicallities of excitement and sadness can be the same.
For me, remorse is just overwhelming. Not all bad. Not all good.
I am overwhelmed by the fact that I have disappointed, hurt, ignored, been seperate from God At the same time, I am overwhelmed with His faithfulness, forgiveness, gentleness, peace. . .
(I have found a space between one and ten- Yea!!!!!!)
I like the word celebration. What did you mean in How? Are you asking for the practices specifically, attitudes,. . ?
M
I am back. This keeps coming up. I recently heard a Christian Counselor/ author say that bitterness is what happens when we get stuck in one of the steps of the greiving process.
ReplyDeleteWHat is the connection between remorse and grief?
Can we get stuck in a portion of remorse? Is that where we get bitter?
Jill. . . Are you out there? Anybody in the pastoral care dept. . . help us out!!!
M
Some of this is like marking where the surf comes to . . . it's not definitive or exact.
ReplyDeleteRemorse/Attrition: Repentance for sin motivated by fear of punishment rather than by love of God. Has to do with conscience. Hard to nail down and discern accurately, even by the person feeling remorse.
"Remorse is virtue's root; its fair increase are fruits of innocence and blessedness." - William C. Bryant
"Remorse begets reform." - William Cowper
"Remorse: beholding heaven and feeling hell." - George Moore
Remorse is the root . . . . but the question is unanswered until there is fruit.
Is there a sense of loss or regret?
If loss, then grief can follow.
Grief is any kind of sorrow, deep anguish. Not necessarily remorse.
Grief has stages.
Remorse should be a starting place . . . .
What of regret? The plot thickens.