I don't know about you, but I've been greatly impacted by New Hope's current sermon series. I especially keep pondering the comments from this past week regarding Christ's words, "Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand." I must say, I have always thought of that as an invitation, but it always seemed to be a kind of manipulative, backhanded invitation. In my mind, it translated to "Repent, or burn.." And I've struggled with that. It never really lined up with who I see Jesus to be - the person who spent his time with the dirty, the poor, the diseased, the judged - the person I want to follow.So this week I've been thinking about it. If repent means change my way of thinking, then repentance will never just be a one time deal. Because I live in a messed up broken world, and my tendency is to fall right in line with its values, I have opportunity after opportunity to change my way of thinking and to see things from Christ's perspective. And I am invited to do so because it is what is right; it is the path to true life. When I line my way of thinking up with Jesus, then I can see the Kingdom around me. Life becomes more than a series of ups and downs. It is richer, fuller and has true meaning.
I also see that when repentance is called for, all is NOT lost. It truly is an invitation to walk with the Creator and Savior of the world and do what he asks me to do. I love the hope in that. I have known many that thought once they accepted Christ, their path was going to be perfect. So...when it wasn't perfect, they walked away. How incredibly sad.
So, I wonder about you. How has this series impacted you thus far??
