REPENTANCE IS A BEAUTIFUL WORD | TugmaLahat

REPENTANCE IS A BEAUTIFUL WORD

By Maria Lourdes Sereno

“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Paradise. The clear and certain promise of the God-Man to a sinner who rebuked another: “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die?” Then he asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His Kingdom, and Jesus gave him the assurance of paradise.

We sometimes doubt that repentance and faith in God’s forgiveness can be that easy, that the last few words of a dying man are enough for acceptance by God. But the entirety of the Bible assures us it is, for the simple, profound, yet common-sense reason that, since Jesus had done everything, do we need to do anything more?

We dare not disbelieve that the God who said all our human efforts to gain salvation is not enough, only His Son’s substitution for what we cannot supply works. So if repentance is accepting that God did everything, and my return to God from my ways is because He is making an offer out of perfect love, isn’t REPENTANCE then, one of the most beautiful words in our language, since it ushers in paradise?

Repentance is not just for individuals, but also for nations. May we have more Jonahs in our midst who will call on Filipinas and all other nations who have become Ninevehs to repent. God in His mercy, will rescue us yet, as He had rescued many, many peoples throughout history.

Ref: Luke 23:32-43, Jonah 3:7-10

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Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is living proof that true courage is forged through adversity.

Sereno rose from humble beginnings to become the country’s first female Chief Justice in 2012. She attended public elementary and secondary school, then pursued higher education through scholarships. She graduated valedictorian from the UP College of Law in 1984, and holds a Masters of Law degree, specializing in law and economics and international trade law, from the University of Michigan.

She was a law professor at the UP for nearly 20 years. The World Trade Organization recognized her stellar credentials with her 1998 appointment as Counsellor of their Appellate Body in Geneva, Switzerland. She was also involved in successful international litigation as co-counsel for the Republic and was AIM’s Executive Director for their Policy Center.

With her modernizing outlook and firm belief in the power of technology, she co-founded a corporation that developed the first annotated electronic research system in Philippine Law. Her tenure as Chief Justice is marked by far-reaching reforms, including eCourts, automated hearings, case decongestion, continuous trials, and expanded small claims courts. At the heart of her reform program is the strong conviction that justice and the law’s protection should be accessible and responsive to the most vulnerable Filipinos. Because she was a staunch defender of judicial independence, Sereno was subjected to intense persecution.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is now a major voice for people-centered change in Philippine society. She believes this change is part of God’s desire for this country, that every Filipino is precious in God’s sight, bawat isa mahalaga, and that each citizen and every community has a role in building up this nation. She is an advocate for faithfulness to the vision of a “just and humane society” in the Philippine Constitution, and integrity and accountability in governance.

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