God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins… (Luke 3:2-3)
Repentance.
That’s one of those words I like to call “Christianese.”
It’s a word we often use inside the church, but not so much outside it.
But what does it really mean? What was John preaching?
He was telling people to prepare the way for the Lord in their hearts.
In short, to embrace God as King and to come under his good reign in their lives.
So often we think of repentance merely in terms of what John calls the “fruit of repentance.”
But God’s primary concern is not instant behavior modification. He wants hearts that are soft towards him. That truly love and trust him.
And from that kind of heart flows the fruit of repentance: a different way of thinking, a different way of acting, moment to moment, day to day.
The good news is that as harsh as the consequences are for maintaining a hard heart toward our King, he so freely forgives when we soften our hearts to him and embrace him as our King. (Isaiah 55:6-7)
Just think about the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:39-43)
God doesn’t require us to mope around in misery for 30 days to prove our repentance.
He doesn’t require us to make a bunch of promises that ultimately prove impossible for us to keep.
All he requires is that we embrace him as King in our lives. To believe that he is good, that he knows and desires our best, and that he deeply loves us.
That’s repentance: changing how we see our King and embracing him.
A changed life that is pleasing to him flows from that.
So I ask what I did in the last article: How do you see your Lord?
Do you love him?
Do you trust him?
Do you embrace your good King’s reign in your life?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 