What did Jesus Say? - Repent!
Jesus said: “Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4: 17
Up until the time that Jesus came
upon the scene and presented himself to John the Baptist to be
baptized by him as a token of his identification with the human race,
the worship of God was ceremonial, for the most part. People lived
pretty much as they pleased. For the most part, people were
concerned only for their own needs and pleasure, religious and strict
keepers of the law out of fear, but having no heart for it. They
feared an angry wrathful God, as they thought of him, whom they
thought was more eager to pour out his wrath and punishment, than to
love, show mercy, and forgive. An eye for an eye and tooth for tooth
mentality prevailed. People were lying, cheating, and killing one
another in business as well as in religious matters.
Jesus came with an all new
philosophy. Jesus was the manifestation of God the Father in human
flesh. He came to reveal to the world the true nature of God. God
is love, God is kind, God is merciful, God is more willing to forgive
sins than to pour out his wrath and punishment if people will only
confess their sins and ask for forgiveness.
To repent means to come to a place
in our sojourn through life when we stop and examine ourselves,
examine our thinking and attitudes, look into the depth of our own
heart and root out all bitterness, envy, strife, covetousness, and
anything that does not reflect the image and glory of God. Jesus
taught us to repent: to stop and take a good look at ourselves and if
we are going in that direction to turn completely around – repent –
and go in the direction of God: to follow his teaching about God, and
his love and mercy, and to look forward to the coming kingdom of
God.
We all need to take a good look at
our lifestyle. What do we believe? What are our attitudes? What are
our ambitions? Are we on the right road to inherit the kingdom of
God? Have we truly believed and received Christ as our Savior? If
not, we need to do as Jesus said: “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4: 17
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