I guess every one of us has been sorry for some of the things we’ve done in the past. All of us have had those moments when we wish we could take back something we’ve said or done. Saying “I’m sorry,” I have found, doesn’t carry much weight as when someone is repentant about what’s happened.
The Bible says we’ve all sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23). We all make mistakes; some big, some not so big; but it’s how we react that makes all the difference. It’s how our heart reacts, not our emotions and those feelings that go up and down.
Saying that you’re sorry is much easier done with a repentant heart. I found most people work with the “I’m sorry” but aren’t that interested in repentance, or they believe I’m sorry is good enough and that it is repentance.
Lots of people have prayed and asked God to forgive them of their sins, but few have really been repentant. In the book of Luke of the Bible, Jesus said that we’re to repent and that Heaven would rejoice. He didn’t say just to be sorry and that there would be rejoicing.
In Luke 13, Jesus expects you to repent. This repentance position has been exchanged for the “I’m sorry” way to many times in the church.
Repenting is a heart issue. No matter how you come to Jesus or even in making a matter right with another, don’t let “I’m sorry” just be enough. Make sure what you are repenting of really changes you. God, for sure, knows the difference and will make His acceptance of the matter from there. Repentance really means change.