Like the story of how the painting was better after correcting the mistake that has smeared it than it had been before the mistake. The beauty of repentance through Christ is that He does not simply restore us to our prior state, He lifts us to a state greater than we had achieved before.
Keep in mind that we don’t need to sin in order to receive the benefits of repentance. We simply need to turn closer to Christ and seek His aid.
Sometimes we take up weapons to defend ourselves from the blessings that the Lord wants to bestow upon us.
Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came.
“…He will not abandon His covenant relationship with you.”
I felt impressed to paint a portrait of the Savior. Though I am an artist, this felt a bit overwhelming. …
The process wasn’t easy. Sometimes it didn’t look as I had hoped. Sometimes there were moments of inspired strokes and ideas. And many times, I just had to try again and again and again.
When I thought the oil painting was finally complete and dry, I began to apply a transparent varnish to protect it from dirt and dust. As I did, I noticed the hair in the painting start to change, smear, and dissolve. I quickly realized that I had applied the varnish too soon, that part of the painting was still wet!…
So I prayed and pled for help and painted through the night to repair things. And I remember looking at the painting in the morning—it looked better than it did before. How was that possible? What I thought was a mistake without mend was an opportunity for His merciful hand to be manifest. He was not done with the painting, and He was not done with me. What joy and relief filled my heart. I praised the Lord for His mercy, for this miracle that not only saved the painting but taught me more about His love and power to save each of us from our mistakes, weaknesses, and sins and to help us become something more.
Not only does the Savior offer to make more of us that we can make of ourselves when we turn to Him without any particular sin, so He can and will make more of us after we turn to Him in sin than we could make of ourselves without sin.
Repenting allows us to feel God’s love and to know and love Him in ways we would never otherwise know.
You may feel at times that it’s not possible to be redeemed, that perhaps you are an exception to God’s love and the Savior’s atoning power because of what you are struggling with or because of what you’ve done. But I testify that you are not beneath the Master’s reach. The Savior “descended below all things” and is in a divine position to lift you and claim you from the darkest abyss and bring you into “his marvellous light.” Through His sufferings, He has made a way for each of us to overcome our personal weaknesses and sins. “He has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.”
This is also true of others that we can’t see how they can be restored. The Lord can reach anyone and we should always treat everyone as if they are still redeemable.
Let us not defend ourselves from the good that God desires to bless us with. From the love and mercy that He desires us to feel. From the light and knowledge He desires to bestow upon us. From the healing that He knows we so readily need. From the deeper covenant relationship He intends for all His sons and daughters.
Like my painting, the Lord is not done with us when we make a mistake, nor does He flee when we falter. Our need for healing and help is not a burden to Him, but the very reason He came.
The Savior can redeem that which was lost, including broken and fractured relationships. He has made a way for all that is fallen to be redeemed—to breathe life into that which feels dead and hopeless.
If you are struggling with a situation you think you should have overcome by now, don’t give up. Be patient with yourself, keep your covenants, repent often, seek the help of your leaders if needed, and go to the house of the Lord as regularly as you can. Listen for and heed the promptings He sends you. He will not abandon His covenant relationship with you.
If someone else is struggling with a situation you think they should have overcome by now, don’t give up. Be patient.
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