Reconsider

The scriptures referred to are 1 Corinthians 7:29-31.

An old Peanuts comic strip is making the rounds on Facebook. Snoopy is on top of his doghouse with a typewriter. Charlie Brown says to him, “I hear you're writing a book on theology. I hope you have a good title.” Snoopy thinks, “I have the perfect title...” And then he types, “Has It Ever Occurred to You That You Might Be Wrong?”

I love this because that could be the subtitle to a lot of theology books that are written in response to other theology books. It could even be the underlying attitude of some theologians, preachers and even ordinary Christians towards others with different interpretations of certain doctrines. But actually Snoopy's title could be seen as the first step in becoming a Christian. Usually it is put in the form of one word: repent.

The Greek word for “repent” literally means “to think differently or reconsider.” And the usual reason to do so is that you realize you are wrong, or at least that there is a different perspective to consider. As we see in our passage from Mark, Jesus' message began with a call to repent or think differently about things. Let's look at a few of them.

First he says, “The time is fulfilled.” What was he talking about? People were waiting for God to do something about the evil in the world. And it seemed like it was never going to happen. As Shakespeare put it, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time.” The daily status quo never seems to change much. We see this at least as far back as when the people complained in Psalm 74, “We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and we none of us knows how long this will be.” (Psalm 74:9) People became complacent. They said, “The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.” (Zephaniah 1:12) It looked like God wasn't going to do anything after all. We see that idea abroad in the world today: God is either indifferent to the world or against it. Or he doesn't exist.

Jesus is saying, “You need to reconsider the idea that God is no longer at work in the world.” The time of waiting for the Messiah, God's Anointed, is over. God is doing something new in Jesus. He is getting involved in the history of humankind in a way he never had before. God becomes one of us. Jesus is not merely going to speak God's word like any prophet would; he is God's Word. He is the very expression of the God of justice and mercy and love, who was active in the creation of the world and is now active in the recreation of the world.

Next Jesus says, “The kingdom of God has come near.” The people of his time were thinking of a literal kingdom. They wanted a new David, a warrior-king who would throw out the Gentiles oppressing them and set up a theocracy that would enforce all the laws of the Torah plus the Oral Law deduced from it. The only way that righteousness could be established in the land was for it to be externally imposed by a political authority, backed by God. We see that idea abroad in the world today. Of course, the disagreement is which interpretation of God and his laws will the government mandate.

Jesus is saying, “You need to reconsider that idea of God's kingdom.” The Greek word translated “kingdom” is more properly translated “royal reign or rule.” God doesn't intend to rule through a human or humans but in them. External rules don't change internal dispositions, or else laws would render everyone law-abiding. In fact authoritarian regimes always have a thriving criminal underground. Often some of the criminals are in the regime itself or friends of it. God doesn't want a kingdom that superficially looks like his people are following his will. He wants to reign in their hearts and minds and lives.

And that means reconsidering what kind of king God has put in charge. Like I said, the people wanted a strong military leader who ruled with an iron fist. That's why some people had trouble seeing Jesus as God's anointed king. Jesus didn't come as a warrior to kill God's enemies; he came as a peacemaker to invite them to become God's friends. (Ephesians 2:14-15) He didn't blame the poor or condemn the prisoner or marginalize the immigrant; he said that what we do or neglect to do to them, we do or neglect to do to him. (Matthew 25:31-46) He didn't avoid the diseased and disabled; he healed them. (Mark 1:32-34) He didn't condemn the person who sinned; he offered forgiveness and a new life. (John 8:2-11)

Consequently when he talked about the kingdom of God, he didn't use military metaphors but spoke of a tiny seed that grows over time to become enormous. (Mark 4:30-32) He compared it to a field where both wheat and weeds, like good and bad people, were found together and not separated until the end. (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) He said it was a realm where forgiveness is not optional or a one-way transaction. (Matthew 6:14-15) In God's kingdom his grace is not earned but given to all as equals. (Matthew 20:1-16)

Because of this, Jesus says, “Repent and believe the good news.” Or in other words, “You need to reconsider your life and put your trust in the good news.” The good news is that God is compassionate and forgiving and healing and gracious. He is more concerned with saving people from their sins than punishing them for their sins. In fact, he was willing to take the consequences of our sins upon himself and did so, letting his enemies, acting on their sinful intentions, execute him. But that wasn't the end. Jesus wasn't just a martyr. He rose again, showing his mastery over not only nature and disease but also his mastery over death. Furthermore, he gives his eternal life and the Holy Spirit of God that empowered him to those who put their trust in him. And of course, if you really trust this good news about him, you will reconsider and change how you live your life.

We are saved by God's grace and not by earning his favor through our feeble attempts to do good enough works. Yet, as James pointed out, anyone can say they believe in God. Real belief results in a changed life. We have seen in the last year who really believes the science of epidemics and disease by whether they follow the protocols laid down by doctors and scientists. And we have seen how people who didn't believe and didn't wear masks or didn't keep their distance got sick and some died. Jesus tells us what thoughts and words and acts are spiritually, morally and socially healthy and which are unhealthy. If we believe him, we will follow his words and the example of his life.

So what do we need to reconsider in our lives if we truly trust Jesus?

We need to reconsider out relationship with God. The two major errors people make about God is that he is too just to be forgiving or that he is too forgiving to be just. And perhaps the best parable to illustrate both sides of God's nature is the parable about the merciless servant. (Matthew 18:21-35) A slave owes a king an outrageous amount of money: millions of dollars in today's currency. He can't pay it back and so the king orders that the man, his wife and his children be sold to repay it. “The slave fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'” The king, his master, takes pity on him and cancels the debt. Then he lets the man go.

That is how forgiving God is. No matter how morally bankrupt we are, no matter how much we owe him for our bad behavior, he is willing to forgive us if we ask. For instance, John Newton was the captain of a slave ship. He repented and became a Christian. Consequently, he renounced the slave trade and became an abolitionist. He became an Anglican priest and served in parishes for the last 20 years of his life. He became an ally of William Wilberforce, who worked in Parliament to abolish the slave trade in Britain. He actually lived to see the Slave Trade Act passed just a few months before he died. He also wrote hymns, like “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken.” But he is most famous for being the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It was his spiritual autobiography, his mea culpa for his years in the slave trade and his amazement and gratitude for God saving a wretched and wicked person such as himself. God is amazingly forgiving.

But Jesus' parable goes on. Right after leaving his master's presence, the slave whose debt is forgiven runs into a fellow slave who owes him a few dollars. He grabs and chokes this other slave, demanding his money back. This slave drops to his knees and asks for patience so he can pay the money back, using the same words the first slave did before the king. But the first slave refuses to give the man the same consideration his master had given him and has the other slave thrown into prison until he pays off the paltry debt. The other slaves are alarmed and tell their master, the king. He then calls the first slave back into his presence, points out how the slave did not show his fellow the same mercy he had been shown and throws him in prison till he repays his enormous debt. Jesus concludes with “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from the heart.” God means business when he says certain attitudes and behaviors are unjust. James puts it this way: “...judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not be merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13) God expects us to be as forgiving to others as he is to us. After all, following Jesus means being like him.

Which means we also need to reconsider our relationships with other people. The world tends to divide people into categories of sex, race, country and creed and then to treat people as if these external differences were differences in a person's value. But in his parable of the good Samaritan Jesus showed that goodness and compassion do not necessarily reside in the “right” people, like the priest or the Levite, but can be found even in a minority which his original audience despised. (Luke 10:25-37) Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) Sin causes us to value people differently. But to the person who is following Jesus, everyone is a person created in the image of God as well as a person for whom Christ died. To treat anyone as worth less than someone else is to deny God's unconditional love and to try to limit his grace based on our judgment.

We also need to reconsider our relationship with ourselves. The world tends to tell us that we should always believe in ourselves and not listen to those who contradict us. But that kind of sweeping self-belief is often the attitude of people who do a lot of damage to others. You wouldn't tell a serial killer to follow his dream despite what others think. Nor would you say that to someone who is foolish or ignorant of the consequences of his ill-conceived scheme. Self-confidence doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with a good character or with competence. In fact, we call people who never admit they might be wrong arrogant. In Rudyard Kipling's poem “If” he strikes a better balance when he says, “If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too.”

It's always good to remember that, as Snoopy wrote, you might be wrong. We are not perfect, either in our reasoning or in our behavior. If you read enough biographies of great men and women, you will find they had their blind spots and character flaws, often with tragic consequences. The Bible doesn't shy away from depicting the imperfections of people God nevertheless used in a mighty way. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter and Paul all had their weaknesses and sins. The Bible doesn't make excuses for them, nor does it hide the fact that their misdeeds had consequences for them and for their relationships. Following Jesus doesn't make you immune from mistakes or temptations. Which is something to remember when thinking of judging others. (Matthew 7:1-2)

I was once at a clergy retreat where the speaker spoke out against regret. I raised my hand and said it's healthy to have regrets when they are for things a person should regret. After all sociopaths have no regrets and that's not a good thing. I suggested that just as we now distinguish between healthy masculinity and toxic masculinity, we would note that there is a difference between healthy regret and toxic regret. If you have done something stupid, especially something that hurt or harmed someone through a cavalier and careless attitude when you should have known better, you should regret it. And learn from it and change your habits so as to not do it again. And if you actually wanted to hurt them, that is something you should regret and get help fixing from God, and maybe from a professional as well. But you shouldn't torture yourself endlessly when it comes to something you had no control over and therefore shouldn't blame yourself for. That's toxic regret. But there is a place for real regret when we have done wrong. In fact it's vital.

Sincere regret leads to repentance. And true repentance leads to change. In Hebrew one of the words translated “repent” literally means “to turn back.” Reconsidering our thoughts, words and deeds in the light of the truth and love and grace we see in Jesus should make us turn from the direction we are going and go back to God. He is our just and merciful, loving and forgiving Father. As Jesus said, “Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.” (John 6:37) Repenting your ways and coming to Jesus is something you will never regret.