Not many robberies end on a positive note but with a repentant thief and a forgiving owner, it can happen. During the last week of May a minor crime caught major attention when a video of the Vancouver bakery break-in went viral. Caught on camera was a young man at 3am apparently intoxicated desperately banging on the glass door of Sweet Somethings on Dunbar St. He then breaks the glass, wanders the store till he finds a mop and tries to contain the mess he just made. He takes both a box of 6 cupcakes and a selfie on the store phone before making a casual exit. Once owner Emma Irvine reviewed the surveillance footage and found his selfie sporting orange-rimmed sunglasses she broke out laughing. A couple days later, perhaps due to the media attention, the bandit contacted Emma to apologize and pay for the damage done. She sensed he was truly remorseful and regretted his actions. She now offers a special signature cupcake topped with cookies decorated as the burglar’s orange rimmed glasses to capitalize on the famed attention of the event. She even asked the police not to press charges. Emma’s original TikTok post about the break-in rapidly exceeded over 2 million views and the follow-up post about the apology is approaching a half million.
I think one reason this scenario is so popular is its novelty. It’s so rare to see someone who got away with a crime confess and repent and make restitution. In the Bible a repentant heart is a prerequisite for God’s forgiveness and salvation. Without a change of heart from self-seeking interest to humble sorrow for harm done to others there is no need for God. There may be prayers to fulfil wants but not the essential prayer of conversion. Repentance reveals we regret wrong-doing and long to make things right. This reversal of a selfish attitude is evidence of the positive force of God’s goodness in our hearts. When we feel the weight of our corrupted nature we can more deeply appreciate and desire God’s character and values.
In both books of Mark and Matthew Jesus began his public proclamation with the call “Repent.” Luke records Jesus saying “unless you repent you will perish” twice in the same speech (Luke 13:3-5). Friends let the heart-warming story of the cupcake thief inspire us to also bear the fruit of repentance in our own lives (Matthew 3:8).