Throughout advent last year, we shared many of your stories that reminded us of God’s faithful and loving presence. As we entered the lent season, I was eager to capture and share more stories, this time with a focus on repentance as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Easter.

In the coming weeks, you’ll get to hear from a woman who, while on an overseas team trip, drank from the bitterness of her own critical spirit and was nearly sent home. You’ll hear from a man repenting of his tendency to hide in the margins of community. You’ll watch a poverty-stricken son of a refugee family turn away from anger and alcohol to embrace the God who loved him in a way he never thought possible.

But before I send you those stories, I wanted to share an observation about repentance and its relationship to joy. About a month ago, I asked around for people who might share their stories of repentance, and it’s no surprise I ended up with a very short lineup of brave souls. The reasons for this are obvious. Any repentance story would start out with an admission of sin, something we aren’t inclined to do in our private lives let alone on camera. But it also occurred to me that many of us may not really know what the word “repentance” means.

So before I share the few stories I’ve captured so far, I thought it would be profitable to ask the question “What is repentance?” Patrick Knable, a lay pastor at our church, agreed to explain repentance in less than five minutes. I hope what Patrick has to share will be food for thought as you walk through the lent season.

After recording hundreds of baptism videos over the years, I’ve noticed that those with a deeper understanding of Jesus’ lordship live quite differently than those who only see God as their counselor or Savior but not so much their Lord. It’s no surprise that those with a high view of God’s authority are less preoccupied with managing their own appearances, and instead they exhibit a palpable, bonafide joy in their walk with God. That is why I think we could really benefit from remembering that as Christians, we don’t merely profess that Christ has saved us so we can get on with our lives on our own terms; in fact, we say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

To illustrate this point, one man, who got baptized today with the West congregation, was so eager to share how God had worked in his life that he didn’t think twice about being on video to share with us even though he had just had his teeth removed. If only we all understood our belovedness in God, we might more eagerly let go of the sin we try to hide in our pockets to embrace the joy God has for us—that Easter joy which eludes us when we fail to leave our sin behind.

I pray God will use the stories to tug at your heart, gently reminding you that when you let go of your sin you gain a greater joy and identity in Christ.

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Derek Nicol
Communications & Creative Director
Veritas Community Church