Jonah: Big Fish, Bigger GodIsampula

What’s repentance?

What is repentance? Is it something you feel? Think? Something you do? We can learn a lot by looking at the repentance described in the book of Jonah:

“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: . . . ‘Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish’” (Jonah 3:5-9).

In this crash course on repentance, we learn a few key truths. First, repentant people are sorry for sin. They aren’t proud of sin. They can’t plan to live in sin. Next, repentant people show they are sorry. In this case, it was fasting and sackcloth. In other passages, this is called the fruit of repentance, the visible proof that we are sorry for our sins. Finally, repentant people call on God’s compassion. They know they deserve his anger, justice, and wrath, so they call on God’s compassion, mercy, and grace. They look to his love to save them from their sins.

You may not be wearing sackcloth today, but a repentant heart is sorry for sin, focused on Jesus’ forgiveness, and willing to make necessary changes. May God give all of us humble, repentant hearts.