How that takes me back. Raised in Assemblies, I heard lots of talk about repentance. Not sure I really had much to repent of back then (I accepted the Lord at the age of five), I was terrified that I would die with sin on my soul and go straight to hell. I had heard that if you thought bad thoughts, disobeyed your parents, cursed, or did any number of other bad things and then died without repenting, you would go straight to hell. Therefore, I felt that I was always one small step away from hell.
How different my beliefs are today! Jesus is my friend, my bridegroom, my covering. God is my loving father, my comfort in times of trouble. I understand that I am loved and that I never need fear--Jesus will always keep my free from the punishment that otherwise would have been mine.
When thinking about the Bible reading today, short as it is, I have to say that it's always better to keep things in context. When you read the entire section (Matthew 4), you see that this happened right after Jesus came back from the wilderness. Soon after, he heard that John was in prison, so he went to heaven, stopping on the way so that this prophecy could be fulfilled:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”[f]
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”[f]
That's why he said "repent"--a new light had dawned upon those sitting in the region and shadow of death. Doesn't that description sound like descriptions of beggars and the lame of the time? They weren't able to leave--but now light has come into their very darkness. This light, according to Jesus, was at hand.
And what do we have to do? Repent. But what does that mean, exactly? I found this explanation of the Greek. Basically, it don't mean what we think it means.
There are two greek words used in this context:
This word is derived from “nous” which means mind. So, metanoeo means to “change your mind”
2. Metamellamai. This is also a compound word. “Meta” means change
“mellamai” means emotions. It means to have a “change of emotions”.
“mellamai” means emotions. It means to have a “change of emotions”.
So in the original Greek, to repent meant to change your mind and change your emotions. That I can do.
I do believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. In some mystical sense, it is, in a way, already here. Where Christ is, to my way of thinking, Heaven is also. And St Theresa of Avila states that Christ has no body now on earth but ours. So when we look in our brother's eyes, yes, we can see Christ in him.
I don't mean that we are living in a new world's heaven where the universe is somehow giving us new freedoms and new beings. But I do believe that God has given us a special measure of grace that allows us to partake of the Son of God and his grace. That, to me, is heaven.
So, yes. Repent. Change your thinking. Change your emotions. Embrace the day that Christ has made and fully--completely--rejoice in it!
The question is, what does it mean to Repent, especially in light of Grace? Perhaps you can affress that in a future blog. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThanks I'll definitely think about it (mike, right?)
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