Scripture: Mark 1:14-15
Journal: Which one do you struggle more with, repentance or belief? How were they meant to be held together? What is the state of each in your heart and
life? How will you repent and believe the
good news this days?
Reflection:
“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the
good news of God. “The time has come,”
he said. “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark
1:14-15)
“It’s time! No more delay. Everything is ripe and ready. The king has finally entered his
kingdom. Therefore, repent and believe
the good news.” They are the very first
words that Mark records of Jesus, so they must be really significant. And they are not a mere suggestion, but a
call. A command. If you want to be a part
of this kingdom, you must repent and believe.
Repent means to
change your mind, your way of thinking.
The Greek word is metanoeō.
It is a combination of two words: meta, which means afterwards,
and noeō, which means to think. Thus,
repentance is the call to think differently or afterwards. Or, in other words, to change the way
we think. It is a key element to
following Jesus. When we come to him, we must begin to think like he thinks,
which then calls us to live like he lives.
Believe means “to
have faith in something or someone.” The
Greek word is pisteuō, which means to be fully convinced of. Thus, belief isn’t just what we say we
believe, it is what we are most convinced is really true. Which is best evidenced by the way we live
our lives. What we do will tell us a lot
about what we really believe to be true.
But notice Jesus doesn’t
just say either repent or believe, he says repent and believe. It must always be both. They are vitally connected to each other, you
cannot separate one from the other. But,
unfortunately, we do.
Often we try to repent,
without really believing, and that is totally useless. Without belief, without being fully convinced,
our change is short-lived at best. It
has no depth or substance or power or rootedness to it. It is the seed planted in shallow soil.
And at other times we might be tempted to
think that we can believe, without actually having to repent. That is equally as useless, and even more
dangerous, because it makes us like the Scribes and Pharisees. When we fall into this way of thinking, we
somehow convince ourselves that we have no need of repentance, either because
of our own self-righteousness (Matthew 5:20), or because we have somehow
convinced ourselves theologically that God no longer requires it (John 8:31-47).
But Jesus is very clear:
both repentance and belief are necessary and essential to life in his kingdom. You cannot have one without the other. It is always a both/and kind of arrangement,
not an either/or. And the sooner we
realize that, and embrace these two necessities, the sooner we can live life
the way Jesus intended it to be.
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: Lord Jesus, repentance and belief are such key
parts of life in your kingdom, but I am good at neither. Have mercy on me, Lord Jesus, and give me the
strength and the power and the courage to be able to repent and believe the
good news, whatever that may look like and whatever it may cost. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment