Does God accept the repentance of a sinner?

 

St. Zosimas communing St. Mary of Egypt, a true icon of repentance

 

 

A soldier once asked Abba Mios if God accepted the repentance of a sinner. And the Abba, after teaching him in various ways, said:

"Tell me, my beloved, if you tear your robe, do you throw it out?"

"No," he responded, "I mend it, and then I use it again."

"If you, therefore, feel sorry for your clothing," the Elder told him, "does not God feel sorry for His own creation?"

 

From the Evergetinos