What does it mean to repent, and why do we do it? When many of us hear the word “repentance,” the first image that comes to mind is of a self-appointed street prophet with a megaphone, proclaiming God’s judgment on passers-by. This understanding of repentance is the opposite of the God of grace we know through Jesus Christ.
It seems clear that repentance is a vital part of our life in Christ – but not as a weapon of shame pointed outward at others, and not as a task through which we accomplish our salvation. True repentance is something different. True repentance is a humbling, empowering, life-changing relationship with God. True repentance transforms how we see and treat ourselves and how we see and treat others.
Repentance is what happens when God responds to our plea: “Have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us and lead us.” Repentance happens when, in the freedom of grace, we find a new delight in God’s will and a new orientation “to walk in God’s ways.”
Repentance, as Jesus reminds us in Mark’s gospel, is “good news.”
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Turn, turn, turn: A time for faithful repentance” by Meghan Johnston Aelabouni in the September 2018 Gather magazine.
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