The Good News Should Feel Like Coming Home.
When I was younger, I would hear, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand,” and immediately think, Oh, I am such a sinner. I heard it as a warning. God is coming soon. You had better repent because you are going to burn in hell. Then there was a time in my life when I thought, “I’m good”. I don’t commit adultery. I don’t fornicate. I don’t steal. I don’t gossip. I don’t do bad things. I think I’m good in God’s eyes. I was ticking the boxes. Okay, I don’t do that. I do this. I don’t do that either. But I have come to understand repentance differently. Read at face value, the English sounds like a threat. Repent. The kingdom is at hand. Get ready. That is how I heard it for years, and it left me afraid of God. But look at what Jesus actually said. The Greek word is metanoeite: meta, beyond, and nous, mind. Change your mind. Not “grovel.” Not “feel ashamed.” Change the way you are seeing. And why? Because the kingdom of God ēngiken, has drawn near. Not “will arrive someday.” Has drawn ...