Words can lose their meaning over time. This can happen because of neglect (we simply do not use the word enough to recall what it means), through misuse (connecting an incorrect meaning to the word) or by reduction (taking a word that means a very broad range of things and reducing it to one meaning). I believe that “repent” is one of those “reduced” words.
Most of us know that to repent means to “turn around”, or (more fully) to make “a complete alteration of the basic motivation and direction of one’s life”. Unfortunately, though, these days “repent” has come to be a threat. It is a word that is most often (and, sometimes, is only) heard in the messages of the so called “hellfire and brimstone” preachers. It is a word that has become tied to other words like “hell”, “damnation” and “judgment”.
What if we heard it differently though? What if it was not a threat but rather an invitation? That would make a lot more sense in verses like Acts 3:19 which says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”. Repentance, in this verse and many others, is connected with blessing not judgment and that is the part that we have forgotten.
Mark Buchanan writes, “Jesus’ message is not ‘Repent, because hell looms close’. His message is, ‘Repent, because the kingdom is near’. There is a world of difference between the two. In Jesus’ hands, repentance is a... promise not a curse. It is good news, not bad” (Leadership, Spring 2010, page 98).
At this time of year when you stop to consider the birth of Jesus, please think about the reason that he came. That little baby came with a message and an offer. He came to call us away from ourselves and to God. He came to tell us about the real King and an everlasting kingdom. He came to say, “You can turn around. No matter where you have been or what you have done, you can start again”.
Or, in his exact words, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near” (Matthew 4:17)
Most of us know that to repent means to “turn around”, or (more fully) to make “a complete alteration of the basic motivation and direction of one’s life”. Unfortunately, though, these days “repent” has come to be a threat. It is a word that is most often (and, sometimes, is only) heard in the messages of the so called “hellfire and brimstone” preachers. It is a word that has become tied to other words like “hell”, “damnation” and “judgment”.
What if we heard it differently though? What if it was not a threat but rather an invitation? That would make a lot more sense in verses like Acts 3:19 which says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”. Repentance, in this verse and many others, is connected with blessing not judgment and that is the part that we have forgotten.
Mark Buchanan writes, “Jesus’ message is not ‘Repent, because hell looms close’. His message is, ‘Repent, because the kingdom is near’. There is a world of difference between the two. In Jesus’ hands, repentance is a... promise not a curse. It is good news, not bad” (Leadership, Spring 2010, page 98).
At this time of year when you stop to consider the birth of Jesus, please think about the reason that he came. That little baby came with a message and an offer. He came to call us away from ourselves and to God. He came to tell us about the real King and an everlasting kingdom. He came to say, “You can turn around. No matter where you have been or what you have done, you can start again”.
Or, in his exact words, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near” (Matthew 4:17)
Comments