"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
-Isaiah 40:1-5
What a beautiful passage! I really want to hone in the "prepare the way of the LORD" part, but we will get to that. Take a minute to take it all in. Not only has God forgiven the sins of those who believe, thus giving everyone a fair chance at redemption, He even went through the trouble of predicting it centuries beforehand! Truly, God's glory is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and the beauty of his Word!
Luke quotes this passage in his account of the gospel immediately preceding the baptism of Jesus, which signifies the beginning of Jesus' ministry. John the Baptist ( a.k.a. the "voice in the wilderness") preaches baptism and repentance. In doing this, he "prepares the way" for the ministry of Jesus. With that in mind, how do we prepare the way for the Lord to work in our hearts, break down our pride, and send us out on the greatest adventure imaginable? We repent! Repentance is the only means by which we can obtain the necessary levels of brokenness, humility, and selflessness to be faithful agents of the kingdom of God. Repentance (along with baptism) is the first step that each of us must take on this Great Adventure that God is calling us to. It's fitting really. Earthly adventures are about people, and thus are dependent on the strength, courage, and goodness of an earthly leader. But heavenly adventures don't work that way. They are first and foremost about God, and thus begin with sons and daughters of the Most High humbling themselves before Almighty God and trusting in his strength.
The Bible is clear that repentance is more than merely "feeling sorry." 2 Corinthians 7:14 says, "...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Fundamentally, repentance is a turning of the heart from sin and toward God. Like just about every other aspect of the Christian faith, it has more to do with God than with us. In fact, the apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:25 that God grants repentance. We make the initial "turning" so to speak, but God Himself is the one who gives us true repentance. Lastly, repentance is not a one time deal. Revelation 2 and 3 calls Christians all over the world to repentance. John the Baptist preaches that we ought to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance." (Luke 3:8)
Why is this so important? Why can't we just apologize to God and be done with it? As much as it pains me to say this, it isn't that simple. True repentance always results in a changed lifestyle: one that more closely resembles that of Jesus. If you haven't changed the way you live your life, you haven't really repented. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 7:21, stating, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." When we truly repent, we are saved, and then we do the Father's will. Simple as that. Sounds easy enough, right? The problem is that we don't want to be saved. We like sin. Are you willing to give it up? Are you willing to be changed? Are you willing to be stretched well beyond your comfort zone? Because that is exactly what He demands of us. "Then [Jesus] said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" When we do that, we will inevitably become like Jesus.
To summarize, repentance is a gift from God, requires a conscious decision from us, and results in righteous living. Perhaps the most poignant explanation of repentance in scripture is found in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. I'm sure most of you know the general story, but I'll give a quick summary just in case :) A reckless young man asks for his inheritance early (which is blatantly disrespectful), then goes on to waste it on wild living. Only after he loses everything and is stuck feeding pigs just to get by, does he remember his father's faithfulness. He makes the decision to go back to his father's house and request to be a servant; quite a courageous decision, really. As he is heading back, something beautiful happens: the father sees him at a distance and runs out to embrace the son. What? Seriously? He's not even going to scold him? Instead, he rejoices at the return of his son, and even throws a huge party for him! What extravagant love our heavenly Father has for his children!
This reconciliation would never have been able to take place had the son not chosen to turn from his wicked lifestyle and go back to his father. While God's relentless love makes reconciliation possible, He waits patiently for us to make the decision to turn from sin. Indeed, it is only by remembering his Father's goodness, that the son musters up the strength to return. Upon returning though, one can imagine that the son no longer has the freedom (or the desire for that matter) to purchase lavish earthly pleasures. He has surrendered his old lifestyle for something infinitely better. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, this option is available to each and every person right this very moment. When we repent, we are released from our self-centeredness and released into God-centeredness, becoming agents of peace, love, and reconciliation wherever we go. If this idea interests you whatsoever at all, but you find yourself unable to make a committment, its quite ok. Ask that God woud grant you repentance, and start looking for authentic Christian community. It will change your life. Do it! If you are already a Christian, remember these things the next time you fall into sin or want to draw nearer to God (cough...every day...cough).
Sorry if this one was more scatterbrained, there was a lot to cover. Thanks for reading!
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