Repent!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I love this word! The word repent. This has not always been the case though because the word repent was not always used appropriately and was often spoken with a finger pointed in my direction. This is a very important word and an activity that, as followers of Jesus, we need to be familiar with and embrace in our lives.

Recently I have been drawn into the first few chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. This portion of scripture is one that I return to often because it is like a huge table to me, a feast that is always beyond my expectations. As I read Matthew 4:17 this time I stopped and closed my eyes. I knew there was something new here that Holy Spirit wanted me to see.

Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As I closed my eyes I was faced with the common conception of what repentance is. In my experience and observation repentance most often looks much more like confession. I speak in regards to our response towards sin either as a new believer or in walking out our daily lives as we follow Jesus. Perhaps a very short description of what this might look like today is something like this. The message is preached “You are a sinner. You are going to hell. Repent of your sin and receive Jesus as your Savior.” When this message is received it typically leads to a prayer of confession where you confess that Jesus Christ is who he says He is and that you are a sinner and ask Jesus for forgiveness. This is beautiful but it is not repentance, confession is indeed the first step towards repentance but we cannot afford to stop there because repentance requires change. Repentance is the life you live every day after you receive the gift of salvation.

The definition of the word repent according to Strong’s Bible Dictionary is “To change one’s mind, i.e. to repent.” There is a comment in Proverbs 23:7 that speaks volumes here as Solomon is describing a certain man he speaks about the broader human condition.

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.

The statement, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” is the essence of the human condition and what we deal with in repentance. The book of Romans also highlights the need for a change of mind stating that we are actually “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). Repentance is a way of living that is a gift from God and as we enter into the glorious kingdom of Heaven we should find that it is this response that sets us free and we can truly walk from the ways of bondage and restriction into the ways of eternal life. This is truly opposite the negative, judgmental connotation that the word has carried in the way it has been presented in my generation.

So, as I closed my eyes the other day I asked the Lord to help me redefine the word repentance to help break the mindset of a finger pointing at me along with the emphatic declaration “Repent because you’re going to hell!” Here is the testimony Lord so graciously reminded me of in that moment.

I made the choice to follow Jesus when I was 12 years old. Life happened and I proved to be very imperfect gathering scrapes, bruises, and scars but always returning to my faith in Him because deep in my heart all I really wanted was to be like Jesus. In my mid thirties I had this encounter with the Lord and it changed my life. I was sitting at my dining room table reading Bible on a Saturday morning. For some reason the house was empty and I was alone. I read these words “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) Here, in this verse was something that I did not understand, at all. Just what was the ‘kingdom of God’? The Lord’s timing in these things is always perfect because I was at a point in my life where I knew there was more but didn’t know how to find it or even where to start looking. So, He raised the question. What was this thing called the ‘kingdom’ that Jesus spoke so much about? And, why was I suppose to repent because of it? I had repented when I was 12, right? So, what and where was this kingdom? So, on that day in my mid thirties I looked up at God and asked a simple question, “Lord, what is this kingdom? What does this mean?” It was a life changing question that led to repentance. He answered me conversationally by asking me to keep track of the things that I was praying about over the next few days. I agreed to do this. Two or three days later I remembered the conversation with the Lord and opened the Bible again to Matthew 6:33 and asked Him again to explain to me what the kingdom was. He responded by asking me what I had been praying about. I said, “Well, You know, right? I need new tires for the truck, the paycheck needs to last until next payday, the kids need this and that…” and the list went on and on. When I was done explaining to Him what He already knew He said this to me, “Ken, the reason you do not know what the kingdom is is because you are seeking “all these things.” My instruction to you here in Matthew 6:33 is to believe that I already know what you need and that I will supply those things. I have asked to to seek the kingdom and righteousness and all I ever hear from you is about your list of things.” In that moment I was deeply convicted of something that I needed to change. Here was a very simple instruction that somehow I had completely missed. That day my prayer life changed, I changed my way of thinking, I gave up my list of things and began to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This involved breaking old habits of how and why I prayed, but I learned to trust that He actually did know what I needed and would indeed supply those things. It was a day by day walk into a new way of thinking and THAT is what repentance is.

This testimony demonstrates two things. It demonstrates the truth about repentance but it also demonstrates the only way to enter into the Kingdom of God. There is no intellectual door into the kingdom or His righteousness, the only way is by seeking Him. The Lord is faithful on every level because as I have turned my full attention to Him, He has faithfully poured out way more than what I need. In fact, His list is way bigger and more generous than what mine was. As for the kingdom, well, who can explain that? All I can really say is that being in the kingdom is being with the King.

His Kid, Your Brother

Ken