If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He will prepare his deadly weapons and ignite his flaming arrows. Psalm 7: 12-13 NLT
So, if you don't repent, God is gonna get you! God will kill you with a sharp sword. God will strike you dead with an arrow. God will come for you with all the arsenal that he has in order to kill you. Without repentance, God wants you dead.
Well, I suppose that is something to contemplate during Lent!
If you don't get on your knees and say you are sorry, God is going to strike you dead!
We Christians focus so much on the afterlife -- whether someone will go to heaven or hell -- that we forget just how precious this life right now is for most people. In fact, I would think that telling people if they don't repent God is going to kill them would bring more people to the altar than just telling them they will be going to hell. People are so much more concerned about the here and now. They either don't believe that God is going to judge them or that God will have ultimate mercy upon them.
But the imagery in this psalm is the imagery of the battlefield. God sharpens his sword. God bending and stringing his bow. God preparing deadly weapons. God igniting his flaming arrows. God is not just going to kill you if you don't repent, God is going to come at you with everything God has!
I think this goes beyond worrying about heaven, hell or imminent death. This is the understanding that God really does want our repentance. Being sorry for what we have done is so important to God that God will battle us for it. God seriously wants us to repent.
God, I am sorry for all I have done or not done, said or thought. I am sorry that I have strayed far from your side. Forgive me for thinking more of myself than I ought to be thinking. In the name of Jesus I pray and ask forgiveness. Amen.
Copyright 2011 Amelia G. Sims
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