Do you not realise that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed (Romans 2:4-5).
God’s best, top, and free offer for the LENT is REPENTANCE. Other offers could expire and could be for a limited time. God’s offer never end. Jesus’ declaration of the need for Israel to repent of their sins resonates with our need and special offer in the midst of the increasing seductions of today’s culture. The truth is that Jesus’ words about judgement and repentance are scary, yet they depict human life as a gift. For example the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree carries the message of judgement, ‘but ends upon a note of grace.’ The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree reminds us that God’s grace is greater than God’s judgement but the warning is that God’s grace is not to be understood as casual indulgence or indifference. Apostle Paul said: “Do you not realise that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed” (Romans 2:4-5). I pray for someone, you will not fail to take the opportunity offer you to repent today so that you do not lose out in the end.
Jesus’ approach I believe brought extreme anger and revolt against him just as preaching of the Gospel in the midst of the seductions of today’s culture could generate revolt against Gospel preachers and the church in general. Jesus’ declaration to Israel that they repent or perish is a bold confrontation of sin which they did not appreciate Jesus pointing out, just as we don’t appreciate the call to repentance today.
The people were looking for ways to get Jesus to agree with them politically though Jesus would have no part of it. The reflection is that, Jesus will not allow himself to ‘be parcelled out in order to get his approval on different matters on which people are personally concerned whether it be political, social, or theological. He won’t be used that way. Instead, Jesus gets to the heart of the matter.’ Transfiguring Lent summons us to get to the heart of the matter, the heart of human problems, the heart of of our democratic paralysis and deadlocks, the heart of our broken parliaments, the heart of our divisions and broken homes, and the heart of crime and immorality in our nations. The heart of the matter for a Transfiguring Lent is the human heart. Transfiguring Lent as invitation to the life of the disciple of Jesus is to consist of daily repentance and renewal. Each day is a day of grace, providing the opportunity to repent and then to bear fruits of repentance (Luke 3:8).
O Lord, humble me to take the opportunity offer me to repent today.
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