students of jesus

Silly stereotypes: they can get in the way. Even worse, they can hide the life-giving truth. For example, the beauties of the word repent.

See? Right away you saw the fire-and-brimstone, didn’t you? Images of the grumpy preacher in Footloose and the irony of fundamentalists screaming “Repent!” while it’s perfectly obvious what they really want is for you to burn in Hell forever. In the wrong mouth, “Repent!” is a hate-filled word. On the Father’s lips, it is the kiss of life.

The Old Testament word is as simple as turning around: you’ve taken a wrong turn, turn around and go back. That’s it. No accusation, no put-downs. When the Hebrews thought of repentance they thought in terms of getting back on track. C.S. Lewis makes repentance sound positively modern:

“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”

Isaiah coupled repentance with rest, a quiet strengthening of our souls—but we would have none of it (Isaiah 30:15-16).

The New Testament word repent is even better: re-think. Get a new mind, change the way you process life. It’s the very first word of the Good News (Mark 1:15). The grace-filled gospel starts with “repent.” John the Baptist and Jesus alike declared that a new reality was breaking into the world; the Kingdom of God was at hand. The old ways of thinking and acting no longer applied. Think on that for a moment: “repent” is an offer of new life.

Ask anyone on the street whether they would like to live a life free from regret. Astoundingly, amazingly, freedom from regret starts with this wonderful Kingdom call: repent! Is this true? The scripture reveals the possibility of a life without regret. “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (II Corinthians 7: 10) Paul encourages his friends in Corinth to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe on such sorrow and allow it to be redeemed. This redemption starts with repentance, and leads to a life free from the burden of what-ifs.

All these wonderful possibilities begin with the humility of repentance. It’s not simply the way into God’s Kingdom; it’s the grace-filled way forward each day. Grace hides in the most unexpected places, but here’s the secret: they are always the low places of life. Like water, grace flows down, soaks in, and fosters new life. One of those low places is repentance.