We see it regularly in our media-saturated world. A person gets caught doing something illegal or immoral, or the mob cancels them, and so they apologize. These public apologies involve tears and bluster and well-crafted media statements. It’s hard to tell if someone is truly sorry for their actions, or simply sorry they got caught.

The Lord speaks of this through his prophet Joel in a message to the people of Israel: Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.

Rending the garments—ripping them apart in a show of contrition and grief—made for a good show. At times it revealed depths of pain and sorrow, but often it merely camouflaged a hard heart.

No careful curation of apology works on the Lord.

Tear your heart open and reveal all your ugliness and anger and embarrassment. Hold nothing back—God can take it. Into a torn heart the Lord pours grace and compassion and love. Hearts grow hard—mine certainly does. If not torn, it acts like a stone repelling water. Rending opens me to God’s gracious hand.

One terrible issue afflicting people today involves the superficiality of faith. Many young people (and old ones like me) watch folks who claim the Christian label stumble into sin and scandal. As this happens over and over the Christian faith appears weak and superficial. Why give time and energy and allegiance to window-dressing? Why play Christian at all?

I add to this superficiality when I busy myself rending my garments and ignoring my heart. Lord forgive me. Point out where to tear at my heart and be patient as I resist. Keep me from superficial expressions of faith. May my life reveal both depth of devotion and rending of heart. Open me to new depths of your grace and compassion and love.

For all of us suffering under this superficiality, may we learn from the wisdom of Joel. Lord help us rend our hearts and not our garments.

Joel 2 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Kelly Sikkema