A CHANGE OF MIND

 MARCH 15, 2023

MARK 1:15

“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”


REPENTANCE

Think about a recent time when you changed your mind and went in a completely different direction. Today, we are looking at the discipline of repentance, or as the Greek word “metanoia” indicates, “a change of mind.”

Repentance is the act of examining and exploring our thoughts and behavior, recognizing what is sinful or impure, asking for God's forgiveness, and then with God’s help, turning away from these behaviors. Easy right? It seems so simple, and yet Jesus seemed to know that we would need help in this. So Jesus, promised and gave us a helper, the Holy Spirit to help us with this very thing. John 16:7–8 says,

7 But the truth is that My departure will be a gift that will serve you well, because if I don’t leave, the great Helper will not come to your aid. When I leave, I will send Him to you. 8-9 When He arrives, He will uncover the sins of the world, expose unbelief as sin, and allow all to see their sins in the light of righteousness for the first time. (The Voice)

It is only by the grace and goodness of God that we see our sin, it is only by the power of God that we turn away from sin, and it is only by the sacrifice of Jesus that our sin is forgiven and we are reconciled with our Creator. That is the Story of God’s love, grace, and mercy. Amazing, isn’t it?

I must be honest, the outcome of our repentance is marvelous, one might say miraculous, yet there is tension or conflict in repentance, because when we invite the Holy Spirit into our dark places, we will have to confront some realities that can be uncomfortable. Such things, as pride, rebellion, fear, doubt and skepticism. The loving nature of God is revealed even in this, because our God knows that the full life we long for can only be experienced by acknowledging our brokenness and need.

Here is the beautiful thing about grace, once the Holy Spirit helps us see a place for change, this revelation results in the acknowledgment of sinful attitudes and actions or unbelief with the focus on God’s lovingkindness. We will experience that there is no condemnation (shame, disapproval, or hopelessness) to those who are in Christ Jesus! Our focus is on God and not on ourselves.