Recently, on a Facebook Group page devoted to those of us who form part of Arthur Burk’s tribal constellation, a question was posed for the Mercies in the group pertaining to how repentance finds expression in the life of a Mercy.
Jim asks:
On Monday morning what does repentance look like for you? How is it expressed?
Having been granted permission by two Mercies, I would like to share their responses on the topic.
Aoife Keegan writes:
For me repentance usually falls into one of two areas:
1. Repentance of not embracing reality/the present time because I find it painful/uncomfortable.
My inclination is to escape and distract myself so I find myself needing to go back to God and choosing to embrace the present reality He has given me. Often it’s as simple as acknowledging “Lord, this present moment sucks or is uncomfortable but I choose to embrace it as a gift from You.” That’s often enough to get me unstuck.
2. Repentence of trying to cope with pain (mine or others) by myself instead of bringing it to God in worship and then coming “back to earth”.
I’m not sure if this is a “typical” Mercy thing or if it’s just me. I tend to allow pain to drive me away from God until it becomes more painful not to bring it to Him. I’m fine to re-engage with the world afterwards because emotionally I’m in a much better place. I think perhaps Mercies are more inclined to go straight to God but then stay there?
In terms of my relationships with people I try to give them a framework of how I think and give them as much detail in advance as possible because my “go with the flow” work methods can frustrate those who need a clear linear plan. I think I’m learning to speak linear people’s language reasonably well!
Janis Leal responded:
Repentance for me as a Mercy means continually facing the Lord and His truth, even when it hurts, Truth at all costs about myself or another.
If I have wronged another, it is usually in ignorance, and when I find out this truth I move respectfully toward that person for reconciliation. If they choose to reconcile or not is their choice, but at least I will do MY part.
For me, as a Mercy, repentance and reconciliation of relationship go hand-in-hand, with both the Lord and with people.
When it is a matter of not wronging an individual directly, but of being wrong (in sin) because of choices/perceptions, that, too, is almost always in ignorance.
When the Lord shows me something that I need to correct, it is usually a wrong perception, and usually involving a choices or choices I made to allow/tolerate another’s sin in the name of “compassion,” or “forgiveness,” or “turning the other cheek,” and things like that. Usually, I am stunned at that revelation. But revelation alone is not repentance. Once I get revelation, I must act on it – i.e., actual repentance, or “turning away from” the lie I believed, or the action of misapplied mercy or unsanctified sympathy, and “turning toward” a new way of living based on that truth that I had not yet embraced.
Seriously, for me as a Mercy, as I look back over my life, my wrongs and sins are never intentional, but almost always a matter of ignorance, or wrongly applying God’s truth in the name of God’s love
Whether or not Janis realized it, she hit exactly where I am going in response to this, in terms of Scripture.
So, here goes.
Zero in on this comment:
“I tend to allow pain to drive me away from God until it becomes more painful not to bring it to Him.”
King David, a Mercy, did precisely the same thing, in the springtime, when kings go out to war…
He committed adultery with Bathsheba, which was a pain-inducing choice that drove him from G-d, and fueled other choices that he may have though helped him avoid pain, but in turn created pain for others.
In no particular order, there was the pain of betraying his other wives.
Then there was the pain of betraying Uriahthe Hittite, his loyal servant.
Then, the pain of betraying Joab, by hiding his motives from his commander.
And most importantly, the pain of betraying G-d Most High.
Thankfully, Nathan was courageous enough to confront, and near enough to be present.
And, so, in Janis’ words
I don’t understand, David Michael MacNelley. For clarification of what floors you? For clarification of me (whether it’s because I’m Mercy or otherwise), my revelation of sin brings me closer to the Lord, with the same heart cry in Psalm 51 of “Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me!!!!!!! (emphatic exclamation points mine). Restore to me the joy of Your salvation….” That’s kind of where I’m coming from.
For anyone in general, and for the Mercy especially, there is the need, nay, the demand that a Mercy reject the Mercy-tending behavior of pain-avoidance and head-on confront the problem before Father, and be cleansed and restored. And if those of us who are Mercies do not have a Nathan that with whom we can be real and vulnerable, we need to handle business with Father.
And with Him, there is a steadfast consistency, affection, fathering, and reality. He will not be unpredictable in his forgiveness. And he will not withhold what in is his very nature: reconciliation.
Saying it in a Pauline way. We cannot expect to fully receive the ministry of reconciliation until we have first received some sort of revelation that beyond repentance, G-d the Father Almighty is the G-d of Reconciliation and the One Who Comforts Us (Isaiah 42:3, 61:2). Though we may be bruised by our sin and feel ashamed or humiliated in our repentance, he is the one who restores and renews us.