Has fear ever driven your repentance by thinking, “I need to repent to be forgiven?” As Christians, we don’t repent to be forgiven. We repent because we are forgiven. Look at God’s heart for you on the cross. You are forgiven! God loves you! Now, what do you want to do? You want to repent, not so that God forgives you but because he forgives you.

Psalm 25:7,11 says, “Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.” The psalmist repented for his sin because he knew God’s love. He was sorry, not because God would kill him but because his sin would kill the God who loves him. He continued: “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare” (verse 15).

Never take your eyes off Jesus. You have a lot of things to do today, a lot of deadlines to meet, and a lot of places to run to and from. But always keep your eyes on the Lord. After all, when you remember that he has given you all your gifts and opportunities in life, your ability to work and play, and most important that he gives you himself—when you remember just how much God loves you, then you won’t be afraid to repent.