An Invitation To See

An Invitation to See

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17, ESV

WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THE WORD REPENT, they often think of someone beating themselves up for their sins and embarking on a path of self-denial. Perhaps the word has been colored by centuries of such messages, or maybe their guilt instinct bends their thoughts in that direction. While repentance certainly does imply a turning from sin, its deeper meaning is broader and much more positive. In both Hebrew and Greek, with slightly different emphases, repentance suggests a new way of seeing and thinking that results in a new way of living. It’s an invitation into a different kind of life than we have experienced.

This invitation to repent constitutes Jesus’ first message in both Matthew and Mark after beginning his ministry, and it comes in the context of the Kingdom of God: The King has come, the Kingdom is right in front of you, and you’ll need new eyes to see it. In order to grasp what this Kingdom is all about, you’ll need to think and believe in different ways and learn to walk according to this new vision. You’ll orient your life around different values, and your prayers will be focused on everything necessary for the realm of heaven to break into earth. You are entering into a new citizenship, and it changes everything.

This kind of repentance—this deeper, fuller, more inspiring meaning—transforms the way we pray. We no longer ask God just to bail us out of a problem or meet a particular need (though he will). We place our prayers in the context of Kingdom purposes: the overthrow of the enemy’s brutal deception and oppression, the restoration of life and peace and wholeness in this world, the values of justice and righteousness and truth, the abundant life Jesus promised. Much more than an invitation to salvation, the gospel cries out for God’s rule and reign “here and now” as well as “there and then.” We don’t know how to pray for such a momentous, world-shaping vision until we see it, and we can’t see it until we turn from our narrow vision and embrace the King. When we do, the Kingdom advances powerfully in our lives and in this world.

The kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers.