|| Pope Shenouda || Father Matta || Bishop Mattaous || Fr. Tadros Malaty || Bishop Moussa || Bishop Alexander || Habib Gerguis || Bishop Angealos || Metropolitan Bishoy ||
Do Not Postpone
H.H. POPE SHENOUDA III
If the grace
of God worked in your heart and you felt a strong desire to repent, do not
hesitate not even for a few minutes...
You do not know, perhaps the motive might cease as well as the outside effect,
then the desire to repent goes away and when you try to look for repentance you
will not find it...
Your deferment for repentance will give the devil a chance to be prepared for
you and to put obstacles in your way. When he knows of your intention to repent,
his wars will become fierce and he will make repentance difficult for you...
The Bible considers your rejection of the voice of God, a kind of a hardness of
the heart. The Divine Inspiration says, "Today if you will heart His voice, do
not harden your hearts." (Heb. 3:15).
Also such deferment, or non-response to the voice of God and His work in you is
considered as giving little value to the work of grace.
God might allow His grace to be taken away from you, or deliver you to the hands
of your enemies or let you be humiliated by sin in order that you may know the
value of the grace you rejected and refuse it no more afterwards...
The prodigal son, when he came to himself, he said, "I will arise and go to my
father." (Luke 15:18). Immediately he arose and went... He seized opportunity of
the spiritual warmth before it became cool in the heart and before it was
snatched by the enemy...
The Bible says, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. " (Eph. 5: l6).
Therefore, benefit from the time in which you feel a longing for God; turn such
a desire into practical fact showing that you seek God as He seeks you...
Many of those who delayed repentance never repented. Or when they tried to
repent later they found it very difficult. And what is worse, many of them no
longer had the wish to repent...!
Every time you delay repentance, say to yourself what is the meaning of this?
Does it mean that you forsake God's reconciliation?! Or do you prefer to
continue resisting Him?! Or do you not mind to strife with God and wound His
love?
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