Change your Mind
Upon the arrival of John the Baptist, he began to proclaim a phrase many of us are familiar with: “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven (God or Heavens) is at hand.” (μετανοέω (metanoeō)) The word I have been thinking about is REPENT. I have read it to mean “to turn around” or “to turn away from”. How about we look at repent from a different lens. The New Testament is written in Greek so lets take the Greek translation. Metanoeo’ it means “to change one’s mind” or “to think differently”. I also like “to think about your thinking”. So let’s take this and apply it to what John is saying in Matthew 3. “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent (think differently) for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’.” Wow. Reading the text this way causes some questions to rise up for me. What should I be thinking differently about? My life? The way I live my life? The question I am left with is “in my current way of thinking, do I have a right to be in the kingdom of heaven now.”
As a man, who has been “born again” since 18 years of age (I am currently in my 50s), I would think I have been walking / living in the kingdom of heaven since that day I confessed Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I should walk in confidence that I have a place at the table of the Lord, but I don’t. My life is counted righteous because I believed (Genesis 15), however, I have not repented according to the definition - think differently. Let’s come back to this later.
Let’s jump ahead to Jesus because he said the same phrase. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (now).” Interesting Jesus says the same phrase in Matthew 4:17-25 then he meets a thousand people on a mountain side. Yes, the sermon on the mount. He sits down (Matthew 5) and begins to teach them. Jesus begins to do what John the Baptist was not able to do. Jesus begins to change people’s mind by getting them to think about their thinking. Think about how they perceive themselves. The Beatitudes message is speaking to a group of people, like you and I, who believe God is, our faith is in Jesus, and we are not sure where we stand regarding the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is revealing to the listeners, you do not have to wait for Heaven’s door when you pass from this life. You are in the kingdom of the heavens now. Jesus - “let me show you why.” Read the rest of Matthew 5: 3 - 11.
The why is the mind question that kept me from excepting what Jesus established two thousand years ago. “Why me, God?” You know how we sing in church, “He saved a retch like me.” Jesus spoke to me while speaking to those who were listening on the mount that day. Those who were considered, by society and culture, unworthy of the Kingdom. The definition of Kingdom - God’s will fulfilled in his realm. The listeners on the mount thinking was going to change from unworthy to welcome (come in). So, Jesus starts off speaking to each human condition by saying “Blessed are those”. Wait! Jesus you are saying I am blessed. A retch like me? Definition of bless - to evoke God’s good will upon someone. Then Jesus continues with the human condition: Poor in spirit, who mourn, meek, hunger & thirst. All of us fits one of these conditions.
Jesus is stating a truth which you have to “KNOW”. It is not a feeling but a fact that the kingdom of the heaven belongs to you - now.
