Our repenting heart is like the heart of a Gastric patient

Liba Hopeson *

In our life, there is a constant inner conflict in us like the great Apostle Paul – to do good and bad. In fact, if we use our mind meticulously, we know apparently that, two voices always speak to us.

Battling with these two voices is an everyday phenomenon. Inspite of our ardent desire to live a good life and do good deeds, we stray from the right path most of the time, and for Paul, it is because of his sins that dwelt in him. Of late, I begin to discover that, human beings are so stubborn, not by seeing or judging others, but from my own life experiences. It's truly rare to find a penitent heart.

Indeed, God always calls us and waits us to repent. But some divides the period of God's call and say, God gives us three special chances to repent. First, when we have fellowship with Him or with the believers. It is considered to be the best time to repent. However, sadly, majority of the people do not repent in the most fortunate chance God offers.

But, since God's love is boundless and illimitable, He doesn't abandon us, but continue to call us by applying a unique method. He calls us to repent in our sufferings. Does God take delight in letting us suffer? Never! But, I use one phrase to qualify God's act; that is, "God does what He really doesn't want to do, in order to save our precious souls."

According to some reports, most of the people repent when they suffer or struggle in their lives. And, as I see, I believe it to be true. Though we fail to respond God's call in the unpleasant second chance or time, He doesn't throw us away like a rejected slave. Even at our death bed or on the eve of our death, He calls us lovingly. So, it is obvious that, He really wants to save us.

Contrastingly, rebellion overwhelms and reigns over us and thus displeases God. Truly repenting our life is one of the hardest things to do. We often think or say that, when our health is good, when we are economically sound and free from all the problems, we can fear God and worship Him fervently. But it is ironic, for most of us go astray when we don't face much problem or difficulty.

Calling the name of the Lord and repenting from our wrongdoings take place mostly when we are stricken by some undesirable conditions or some unpleasant feelings. When adversity strikes, words such as, O God, I am sorry, please forgive me, help me, bless me, heal me and so on, are uttered from our deceiving mouth. As I think about repentance, it is like the heart of a gastric patient.

After reading some lines, wonder and confusion might have struck you for quite some time, as I am stressing the title of the article lately. Now, allow me to break the vagueness of the idea! A gastric patient has to abstain from certain food, mostly tasty and delicious ones, for obnoxious reports that he/she should not eat would often come from the body, in the form of stomach pain, back pain, neck pain, headache etc.

But, as human beings have flesh and blood, finds extremely difficult to abstain many a times. So, when the gastritis is not severe, a patient eats happily, even gobble at times, savoring the delectable concoctions or tasty food like a person who is fine. But as the stomach engine is not very strong, he/she is definitely affected after eating food which is not supposed to be eaten.

After savoring a lot of scrumptious food, oblivious of the impending problems, a new decision awaits a gastric patient. He/she has to take a decision, that is, to abstain from food which is not good for gastritis, albeit flavorsome or lip-smacking or yummy. I compare this experience with our heart to repent. When we are quite fine, we go on living freely, keeping aside God as if He is not needed. But, when adversity, suffering or agony strikes us, we turn to God in repentance and ask His help.

Irrefutably, everyone has a problem in life. If a person says, I don't have any problem, something is wrong with him/her. Nonetheless, when the degree of our problem is higher or stronger, we humble ourselves and penitently call upon Gd. We make promising decisions as if we'll be loyal and obedient till our last breath. But, ironically, our decision becomes like children playing toys or an unpredictable weather when it drizzles intermittently.

It is like the capricious mind of a gastric patient, who thinks it is ok/fine to eat any food freely when the pain is not severe. But, when the gastritis is severe, he/she takes an intense decision, though unreliable, not to eat food again that is not good for him/her.

Suffering is like a bridge between human and God. Repentance, which is a must for every human comes often with suffering. "Our thoughts are not God's thoughts, nor our ways His ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, His thoughts and ways are higher than ours" (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Bible says, we are to rejoice when we suffer with the notion that we partake Christ's suffering. God doesn't want us to suffer, but He wants us to suffer because of our unrepentant and obstinate heart.

So, should we curse the sufferings? If sufferings can lead us to call the name of our Lord and repent, why should we grumble and complain? God forbids! Remember, a gastric patient learns a valuable lesson when his/her gastritis is severe. Though repenting when we don't face much hardship is advisable or better, calling the name of the Lord in times of suffering is not a lost, but precious, for it can drastically transform our lives. Truly, our 'heart' in times of suffering is quite different from when we don't suffer.