Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Scripture: Matthew 4:17, Matthew 3:2, Acts 2:38
The word “repent” doesn’t hit the same in English. But in its truest form, it means something radical — a complete turning around. Imagine a soldier in formation facing one direction. The command comes: “About turn.” He doesn’t shuffle sideways. He doesn’t half-turn. He rotates 180 degrees. His back is now to where his face was. He’s facing completely the opposite direction.
That’s repentance. A turning of the mind. An about-face from one direction to another.
John the Baptist understood this. The nation of Israel had been trained for centuries to look toward earthly things — land, prosperity, physical health, military strength. The entire Old Covenant was built on material blessings. But then John showed up saying: turn around. Stop looking at the earth. The kingdom of heaven is coming, and it’s about spiritual wealth, not material wealth. It’s about a heavenly inheritance, not an earthly one.
Jesus picked up that same message. Matthew 4:17 shows Him preaching exactly what John preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Peter continued it after Pentecost in Acts 2:38. Same message. It wasn’t a casual suggestion. It was a fundamental reorientation. Stop running toward one thing and start running toward another. Stop building your life around earthly success and start building it around spiritual reality.
Here’s the thing — real conversion isn’t just about getting forgiven. It’s about turning around. It’s about changing what you’re chasing, what you’re building toward, what you’re aiming your life at. And that turning has to be complete. You can’t half-repent any more than a soldier can half-turn. Either you’ve changed direction or you haven’t.
Think about it: What direction are you actually facing? Toward earthly security or toward God’s kingdom? Are you in the middle of repenting, or have you made a complete about-face?
Prayer: Lord, help me turn completely around. Not just from sin, but toward You. Help me stop running after earthly things and chase Your kingdom instead.
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