THE CHILDREN'S REPENTANCE

In the course of His teaching the Lord Jesus told a simple story about a disobedient child who, happily, "repented himself". When his father had told him to go and work in the vineyard the boy had very definitely refused to do so, but later he went and worked. What then caused him to change his mind and do the will of his father? We are not told, but perhaps he remembered that he really owed everything to his loving father and must therefore do his bidding. Thus in our own case it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Possibly the boy became afraid of the just punishment for being disobedient, and this would surely urge him to surrender. For such a merciful reason God has now enjoined that all persons everywhere should repent.

Whatever the child's feelings and reasonings may have been, at any rate it was his father's will that now decided him. So, for us, true repentance is always "towards God" and this enables us to see ourselves in the light of His holiness. It is really brought about by God's own work in our souls and with it comes "faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ" whose atoning work has dealt with all that called for repentance on our part.

The repentant boy in the story told by Jesus had a brother who also was sent by their father to work in the vineyard. He answered in a way which was certainly polite - calling his father "Sir" - yet which at the same time showed a lack of the normal, lively affection of a son. It is true that he said he would go but, sorrowfully, the Lord added that he "went not". The moral of this was brought to bear by Jesus upon the merely religious persons around Him but it is for each of us to search whether we are in reality doing the will of our Father who is in the heavens.

A good example of a repenting sinner coming into blessing is the so-called prodigal son. Of him it has been said that on "coming to himself" he repented and saw his own evil in the light of the loving-kindness of his father. When he said "I will rise up and go to my father" he took a further step in soul-history and became converted, or changed. When, however, he met his father and received the best robe, he knew what it was to be blessed with the fulness of the glad tidings. Have you travelled the whole of this road yet?

J.C.Evershed