Original Repentance

"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark..."

Original Repentance
By Rev. William Dohle

"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry daddy..."

My daughter cried this with tears streaming down her face the other day as she faced being grounded for hitting her brother.

"But Daddy... I said I was sorry!" she cries from her bedroom as she sits on her bed, grounded.

I don't know where that originated from. Where the whole notion of "being sorry" came from. I could say that it's genetic. My family likes to say they're sorry. I know she's heard these words from me. I could say it's just a part of who we are. But when did we first start saying "I'm sorry..." and when did we first start feeling regret over what we did.

You might be surprised where regret originates from in Scripture. It's not found in any human being. Adam doesn't ever say he's sorry. Nor does Eve. Nor does Cain or any other human being. Surprisingly the first one to say they are sorry... is God!

"God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."(Genesis 6:5-7; The Message)

God is the first one to say he's sorry. Sorry for making human beings. Sorry for creation and all the pain its caused him. Sorry to have caused all this mess.

God is sorry for creating such potential for evil and the drive to do nothing but bad. God is sorry for the pain of Abel after Cain's killed him and sorry for the hurt that this caused. God is sorry for the broken families that have emerged on the earth and for all the hurt and pain. God is sorry...

And so God does something about it. He decides to wipe the slate clean and begin anew. He's found Noah and his family, who are faithful, and decides to make the whole thing over again with him.

Of course sin still remains and the world isn't fixed. But that doesn't matter...cause something has changed for God after this whole big flood. God changes his mind about the whole thing. Instead of being sorry for making his creation, God vows to protect it.

God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done. (Genesis 8:21; The Message).

God changes. God repents. God decides that he loves this creation too much to wipe it all out. Maybe its not as bad as he thought. God repents of what God has done...and so begins the cycle of repentance for the rest of us.

We too, as children of God, walk in God's paths. God repents...and we can too. God changes...and we can too. God has sworn to love, protect, care for, cherish, and nurture this creation. We can too!

God of Repentance, you have shown us how to change our minds and turn to good. Enable us on our journeys to see where we have stumbled, to turn to your good, to return to your presence, and to know the joy of living, through Christ our Lord. Amen.