The World Behind Me, the Cross Before Me

Galatians 3:27, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.---------The old familiar tune, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, reminds us of the importance of repentance in following after Christ. That verse affirms this with the words, "The world behind me, the cross before me," as a commitment to lasting change that occurs with genuine repentance.----------It is not simply a matter of recognizing our sinfulness and telling God we are sorry about it. It is allowing Godly sorrow to lead us to a state of repentance, as the Apostle Paul wrote in one of his letters to the church in Corinth. The expected effect of a repentant heart is a lasting change in the direction of one's life. Sin doesn't magically disappear, but the the desire to repeatedly engage is sinful activity should wane and temptation should not have the pull on our lives as it once did because of the change of heart that has occurred.