Both Jesus and His forerunner, John the Baptist, had the same message: "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is near!" They were both sent from God and both had to get the people ready for the kingdom.
Jesus, was, of course, greater than John because He brought the kingdom while John only announced that is was coming.
Notice that both of these messengers of God called the people of their time to
repent. The people were told that the kingdom of God's coming made it necessary for them to repent. The same is
true for us today. We must repent if we are to be a part of the kingdom of God.
Now to ask the most obvious question: What does it mean to repent? Repentance
means a change of mind (which necessarily leads to a change in actions). Both John and Jesus knew that
people who are accustomed to this world and the thinking of this world cannot remain the same if they are going to understand
the ways of God's kingdom. God demands that we be open to a new way of thinking and acting - turning away from sin and
embracing love.
Repentance has a few important parts to it:
1. Humbly acknowledging you've got it wrong - The people came to John the Baptist, and
"confessing their sins, they were baptized... in the Jordan River" (Matthew 3:6). Why were they told to confess their
sins? Because they needed to be able to see that the ways they were thinking and acting were very different than the
way God expects members of His kingdom to think and act. You see, a sin is simply a violation of the King's ways.
If we want to live in His kingdom, we must realize that our actions and thoughts need to be different than they are now.
2. Learning what's true and right from one who knows - Discipleship, at
its core, is the process by which we who have it wrong learn to get it right. We who have been misled by the lies of
the world need to find someone who has the untainted, pure truth of how God intends things to be. Jesus is the One who
offers this. This is why He came offering truth, and a few people decided to give their lives to learning from Him.
That truth has been passed along through discipleship to this very day (that's been the Church's role), and now you have the
chance to become one of those who will learn the truth about God's Kingdom.
So, if you're humble enough to acknowledge that you've had it wrong all along and
are willing to give up the half-truths and lies that lead you to sin, it's time to come to the Master and learn the true way
of things. That's repentance, and that's the first step of true discipleship.
Jesus died on a cross nearly two thousand years ago to ensure that your sins are paid
for and your life is redeemed for God. Your old ways of rebellion against God were dealt with then and there by Jesus
so that you can live again. Having our old sins dealt with was a necessary part of Jesus' work, but we still have to
be taught how to live God-pleasing lives from here on out. That's why we become disciples of Jesus. Our sins are
taken care of, but we want to become obedient children, so we learn from Jesus how to do that.
One last thought: repentance is not a one-time event. We
must always live in the realization that we're students, unlearning the lies that are firmly planted in us and learning
the truth that the Master offers. Never forget to keep the spirit of repentance as you learn from your
discipler, because a proud student is a student who will not learn.
