Repentance continuing process
JOE MILLER JR.

Luke 13:1-9

This is a bizarre country that we live in. If you were not familiar with America, and you had been watching television news these last few weeks, you would assume that two of the most important events in this country were the burial of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears shaving her head and checking in and out of rehab.

What is it with our fixation on so-called celebrities? It seems like the stranger the things they do, the most fascinated we are. I suppose we should include the trial of Scooter Libby in that list of "newsworthy events." I suspect that one reason we are fascinated with these "celebrities" is that it makes us feel good about ourselves. "I may not be perfect, but I sure am a lot better than."

Perhaps that is what the people in the crowd had in mind when they told Jesus about the Galileans being killed by Pilate while they offered sacrifices in the temple. Jesus had been teaching for some time (all of chapter 12) regarding preparation for judgment, repentance, and entering the Kingdom of God.

After this long lecture their response could have been: "We are not so bad, look at those Galileans! They must have been bad sinners to have that happen to them." Jesus used this opportunity to emphasize what he had already been teaching.

First he turned their worldly logic upside down by explaining that those Galileans were no worse sinners than any other Galileans. This teaching was very radical for Jesus' era. The current belief then was that if something bad happened to you, it was God's punishment for sin.

Then Jesus strongly urged them all to repent while there was still time to do so. He actually says this twice during the teaching session and then tells a parable that reinforces the necessity of repentance.

Repentance is a crucial element of being a follower of Jesus. It is so easy to assume that we are okay as long as there are "celebrities" who behave a lot worse than we do. However, that is a huge and incorrect rationalization. All of us need to repent.

Repent does not mean simply saying, "I am sorry." Repent comes from a Greek word that means stopping, turning around, and going in the opposite direction.

To repent is to begin the process of becoming someone different; to throw off the old and put on the new. Of course, we all say that we have repented. Some of us know when we made the first decision in our life to accept Jesus, and it began with the realization that we were sinners and repented.

We knew that we needed the salvation that Christ offered us. Stop and reflect a moment. Is it possible that we have sinned since that time? If so, repentance becomes a continuing process. Hopefully, as the days go by, we draw closer and closer to God and begin to recover His image in our lives.

I know that I have far to go to reclaim the image of God in my life. Even though there may be people in the world that I can point to as being worse sinners than I am, I am still a sinner and need to repent constantly. It is what Jesus taught us. He chose the nail so that we can not forget.

The best place to learn the way of Christ Jesus is in church. If you have a church, worship passionately. If you do not have a church, find one. East Texas is full of good churches. Email me at newtonumc@valornet.com with your thoughts.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.