Repent

When my dad said that the yard needed to be mowed I knew that he was talking to me. It was my job to mow the yard. I got paid an allowance for doing it. But I was not always very good at observing when it need to be done. Usually I mowed every week. Sometimes, if the grass was dry, I waited a few days. Or, if there had been a lot of rain, I might have to mow it sooner. During those odd weeks I could always count on Dad to say something about it and I knew it was time to get the job done.

    I enjoyed summer vacation. So, there were times during the summer when what I wanted to do conflicted with what Dad wanted me to do. On sunny days the pool down the hill was open. It was tempting to put off the mowing to go to the pool. Problem was, if I delayed the mowing Dad also delayed the allowance and I did not have the money to go to the pool. That was when I knew I needed to mow the grass even if it was hot and inconvenient. If I did not mow I could not swim. I remember more than once getting ready to go to the pool, checking my pockets, and going out to get on the lawnmower instead.

   The word for “Repent” in the Bible means to change direction. Sometimes we say that repent means to turn and go in a new direction. To expand on that definition, repent means to recognize what God want us to do and turn and go in the right direction. It is like when I started for the pool and then turned around to do what my Dad wanted instead.

   In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, ESV) In that statement Jesus was teaching us the true meaning of repentance. We need to pray everyday to know God’s will and change our direction to match his desire.

   God’s will is for his kingdom on earth to match his kingdom in heaven. The king, in older times, was the ruler of the people and the owner of all the property. The people were the stewards of the king’s property and they gave him most of their crops in exchange for his protection. That is still the way it is in heaven, God owns and rules it all. He wants it to be that way here on earth too but we have to willingly put God in charge of each of our lives. In exchange he promises us protection from death, eternal life in heaven with him.

   God’s word, the Bible, is our main source of information on God’s will. He also speaks to us individually in prayer and sometimes a nudge in the right direction. Every nudge from God is always backed up by the Bible. A spiritual nudge can be very personal. He can speak to your conscience about doing the right thing. He can give an intuitive nudge about a need that you would not have known otherwise. We need to listen and tune our hearts to God’s presence as we pray daily for God’s will to be done. We honor God when we do his will. He repays us with an allowance that is out of this world.

   Bro. Robin