In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. Jehoiachin took off his prison clothes and ate daily in the king’s presence for the rest of his life. He was given daily provisions by the king for the rest of his life until the day he died. 2 Kings 25:27-30
New English Translation
King Jehoiachin was pardoned, then he took off his prison clothes. Whether he was pardoned or not, Jehoiachin had the choice to continue living like he was still a prisoner or step out of that prisoner’s clothing and dine with the king.
Did you know you have that exact same choice? Sure, you’re not being pardoned by a human king, but you are being pardoned by the One True King. See, when you sin and live life in defiance of God, you become a prisoner to sin and the temptations Satan puts in your way. But, when God releases you from that sinful trap in your past, He pardons you from your past sins. However, repentance is that moment where you choose to take off your prisoner clothes.
Repentance isn’t something that just happens. It’s a choice. Do you know what repentance is? Repentance is an action, a verb. It starts with the realization that a specific way of acting does not honor God and hurts God and your relationship with God. Then, it takes that realization and puts it into action as you actively put up boundaries, discard ways of living, and change your behavior to remove that poor behavior.
Repentance is your opportunity to take off the prison clothes.
See, Jehoiachin could not have been in the king’s presence and ate at the king’s table if he had left his prison clothes on. That’s simply disrespectful and ungrateful toward the king and the pardon he offered. The same is true when it comes to faith. God offers you a pardon from your sin, an opportunity to be in His presence and in relationship with Him (essentially what eating at the king’s table entails).
So, my question to is, are you still wearing your prison clothes? If so, why are you choosing to live in dirty stuff of your past when you could live with royalty? Take some time and think about that. What things are you holding on to from your past? Are you taking a new path with God? Or are you trying to keep a little something from your past? Be honest with yourself, that’s the only way to take up freedom.