Repent / Change your mind

What did Jesus mean

Change your mind.

Where did Jesus say this

Mark 1:15 — “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

What Jesus did not mean

Do this now. Come to me now. Follow me or else.

He’s asking people to change their minds. Stop what you’re doing, look in another direction, and find the better path. Because it’s been there all along.

But there’s more to this. Jesus’s message of repentance sounds different depending on who’s listening.

In Luke 5:32, Jesus was addressing a large group of spiritually diverse people. He says: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

To the truly righteous (those who live true no matter what), this message sounded different to them. To them, it was encouraging. “Keep walking the path. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

To sinners, on the other hand, this message sounded like a plea. “Change your mind… please.”

Maybe you’d understand it more if it sounded like this:

“I’m here to talk to all of you. Consider me your guide. Those of you who have already repented, I’m still your guide. Those of you who need to repent, I’ll take you down a better path.”

Where to start

When you imagine a sinner repenting, it probably looks kind of scary, and you probably imagine there’s one very specific person who’s very, very angry with you.

But that’s not the case.

Repenting is a good thing. It means you’ve discovered something really beautiful exists just beyond the horizon. All you have to do is walk up to it.

The walk, however, may be a difficult journey. And it doesn’t look the same for everyone.

Think of it like this: You’ve gone your whole life bottling up guilt (perhaps how you’ve treated others) and shame (perhaps how you’ve lived your life). When you decide to “repent,” you’ve decided that you need to find your way out of that guilt and shame.

Sometimes this looks like apologies to others. Sometimes this looks like understanding yourself better. And sometimes this is less figurative and more literal (for example, quitting a job, an addiction, or a relationship).

Whatever the walk may look like, Jesus is there with you. All you have to do is ask for help. That’s the perfect place to start.

Benefits

Remember, repenting means you’ve discovered something really beautiful exists just beyond the horizon.

Once you walk up to it and touch it, you’ll feel so many things at once: forgiveness, weightlessness, companionship, happiness, and love. And that’s just the beginning.

Luke 15:10 — “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”