Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.
That declaration by Jesus, in varying forms, echoes throughout the Gospels. It heralds the advent of a new kind of kingdom and, by implication, the arrival of a new kind of king, one from heaven no less. The saying is tinged with a kind of existential urgency: this new kingdom will bring about more than a shift in administration, a switching of national flags, or a change in taxation policies. It is something that will affect you—your identity, your purpose, your very being, in fact. It is a new reality that demands repentance from you.
February 23, 2015
