For as long as I have been a Christian I have heard it said that I need to take responsibility for my sin—the weight, depth, and consequences of it. And while owning our sin is a part of walking with God, for “godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10), Jesus said, “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). As Jesus read from Isaiah 61, the good news is that the brokenhearted can be healed, those in bondage can be set free, ashes can be exchanged for beauty, mourning for joy, and despair for praise. This is truly good news, but the Scripture does not end there.
It says that those who repent and believe the good news will display God’s splendor; they will rebuild, restore, and renew what was devastated and ruined.
Because of the work of Christ for you and in you, you are now a revelation of God’s splendor, His image bearer. You are not simply an object of God’s forgiveness and tolerance, which is what most people believe about their lives. No, there is a brilliance, a magnificence to your life that you are to take responsibility for: the splendor of your life—not simply what has been taken away, but what has been given to you. C. S. Lewis said, “Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity.”
There is something much truer about you than your need for and the granting of forgiveness. You started from a higher place. There is something more important, more heroic, more glorious about your life than you ever imagined. David says that God made us a little lower than Himself and has crowned us with glory and honor (Ps. 8: 5).
Let’s pause a moment. Is that what you’ve come to understand? Do you live each day with an awareness and ownership of your glory and majesty? Probably not. I’m guessing this is not what you have been told, nor how you usually feel.
