Luke 13:4-5 – Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. (NIV)

I think I was blessed with a great piano teacher, for she always tried to make my lessons interesting. One of the ways she did this was by telling me a fascinating fact about the composer of the piece. Once when we were studying a piece by Handel, she told me that Handel expected his choir members to perform his music the way he intended it to sound. One of the divas in his choir continued to sing a personal interpretation of the work instead of following the maestro's instructions. During one practice session, Handel became so impatient with the chorister that he did something the singer probably never forgot. Apparently, Handel took the offending member by the legs and hung the individual by the heels out a third-storey window until the chorister repented and agreed to follow directions and do it the maestro's way.

Unlike Handel, God doesn't take us by the heels and hold us upside down until we agree to follow His instructions. Nonetheless, in order to obtain peace and harmony in our lives, we must repent. This means not only saying that we are sorry and asking God to forgive us for our sin, but also making a 180-degree turn away from sin and thereafter walking in a completely different direction, on the path of righteousness.

Prayer: Dear God, so often, we have been guilty of wanting to do things our own way instead of Your way. As we enter the Lenten season today, in which we think of Christ's sacrifice for our sin, help us towards true repentance, not only saying that we are sorry, but also doing things Your way from now on. Amen.

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About the author:

Elaine Ingalls Hogg <authorhogg@yahoo.ca>
Smiths Creek, New Brunswick, Canada
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