The Big Shift

Hey again, folks! It's Tuesday as I write this, which means another word exploration. That's as good a name as any. Last Sunday, my Pastor talked about repentance, which made me wonder. What does that word actually mean? It sounds kind of like repeat, but that couldn't be right. Or could it? That's why I did a little research, so you don't have to. I was delighted by what I found, and I hope you will be too. In any case, if you're ready, let's get into it!

First off, some history. Our version, repent comes from the latin, poenitre, which became the French, repinir, to make one sorry or ashamed. Which was the closest monks could think of for the Hebrew teshuva, meaning return, or the Greek metanoia, a change of mind.

Out of those three in the Bible, (Latin, Hebrew, and Greek,) the Greek is the most common, and it's the kind of change that Christ talked about. So, that's what I'm gonna talk about here. Which is fairly common, being what John the Baptist talked about in Matthew 3, and Paul the apostle in Acts 3. Ignoring the numerical pattern, what they talked about was (is?) interesting. John was part of a people who had been waiting 700 years, and then the Messiah arrived! So he warned them,the Kingdom of God is at hand. Paul, 50 or 60 years after Jesus' ressurection, more emphasized living right, right here.

Of course, both are important. In an odd reversal, it matters how we live because the Kingdom is at hand. Which brings me to my next Scripture, Romans 12:2. See, in his next letter, Paul encourages people to "Be transformed by the renewal of your minds. Or, in a word, metanoia. And that's exactly what The baptizer was talking about, as well as the meaning behind the entire sermon on the mount. One last referrence, real quick. Psalm 37:4 says to "Delght yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

What it doesn't say is that by delighting yourself in Him, your desires will be different. Because you've repented, you've changed. You've aligned yourself with the Maker of Everything. And now, your desires will lead to a life without end, and joy beyond understanding.

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