Judges 19-21 | Luke 7:31-50

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Matthew 4:17

Some of us may have heard street preachers declare, “Repent! Because the end is coming!” While their tenacity and courage are commendable, repentance is something more invasive and invitational. For the religious mind, the word “repent” is all about our morality. In other words, repentance means stop doing the wrong thing and start doing the right thing. Yet, as a follower of Jesus, I (Quincy Bergman) would argue that the word repent is not about the rule of law; it is about the way of love for Jesus and for others. When Jesus said, “Repent!” to His first disciples, He was calling them to change the direction in which they were looking for happiness; hence, repentance is an invitation to grow up and become a fully mature human being.

As I have journeyed with Jesus, I have learned that repentance is not something that we do when we make a big mistake and we turn to God and say, “Oh God, may bad, Sorry!” But in each day of our lives, as we live being followers of Jesus Christ, may we pray: “Dear God, I ask for Your help and Your strength to orient my life and my being in Your direction so that I can see You and know the way that You are wanting to lead me. I humbly submit to You.” 

Sometimes, when we are doing well, we have the tendency to believe that it is all on our own abilities. We establish a routine, figure out a formula and tell Jesus, “We’ve got this!” We can become so reliant on our own skills and giftings, where Jesus becomes more of an accessory to the plan or direction that we are planning on going.

I have always been confused when people say, “When you have your list of priorities, make sure that God is number one on your list and then family and work and friends and everything else.” I had struggled with that because what does it mean to have God number one? What I would like to suggest, rather, is to think of God as the pen and the paper on which we are writing down our list of priorities. Why? Because by having God as the paper and the pen, He influences the way that we love our family, we connect with our friends, we do our job or we study in school.

May we take some time today to remember our own story, think about where God is meeting us and open to Him every aspect of our life as we grow up and become fully mature human beings.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly surrender my life to You. Thank You that repentance is an invitation into a relationship with You. Praise You!