This year, I have been studying Luke. The first day I sat down to study, I read Luke 1:17, which ends with a description of John the Baptist’s work “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (ESV). As I was praying through this verse, a simple question popped into my head: “Are you ‘prepared and ready’ for the Lord to work in your life and ministry?” The honest answer was “I don’t know,” but I do know I want to be prepared and ready. John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus by preaching repentance. So, if I/we want to be ready for the Lord, it seems that repentance is key.
Repentance, however, is often seen as a negative word and experience. This is understandable because guilt and shame are often the main emotions that are tied to it. When we hear that someone needs to repent, it implies they have done something really bad and should feel really bad about it.
But for followers of Jesus, repentance is one of the best words. To understand why, let’s look at what it means. In Greek, the word for repentance is metanoia, which means to have a change of heart or mind. Sin, or hamartia in Greek, is usually defined as “missing the mark.” So, if sin means missing the mark, then repentance means getting back on target. This is a good thing. Who doesn’t look to change when consistently missing the bullseye?
We also need to remember that although there is often guilt and shame in the beginning of repentance, those feelings are not found at the end. At the end of repentance, we get to see the face of God and hear him say, “Your sins are forgiven; go and sin no more,” or “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” This is a wonderful thing. We get to go to our loving Father, tell him where we are missing the mark, and then he guides us back to the target.
Now, repentance is not something that comes naturally. In fact, I would argue that it is intertwined and interdependent with two other unnatural characteristics: obedience and humility. These are characteristics that are opposite to everything our world values, and yet they make up the foundation of our faith. There is a pattern: the fruit of obedience is humility, and the fruit of humility is repentance. And the fruit of all these is a heart prepared to be used by God. Want to grow? Want your ministry to grow? Are you prepared and ready? Maybe repentance is the catalyst we’ve been missing.
Further study:
Journey to the Cross: Devotions for Lent by Will Walker and Kendal Haug
