A Changed Heart

Although John the Baptist appears on the church's liturgical stage in the weeks before Christmas, we never hear him saying, "Merry Christmas!"  Instead he stands out there knee deep in the waters of the Jordan hollering, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near."  (Matthew 3:2)  He and Jesus were on the same page in those days.  As Matthew writes about the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he remembers the Savior's first recorded sermon, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near."  (Matthew 4:17)   

 

Repentance has gotten watered down through the centuries.  There was a time when some kind of monetary sacrifice accompanied it, but these days, it comes as cheap as saying, "I'm sorry."  When we look for the meaning of the word, we find that it speaks of a turning from one thing and going in a different direction.  Zachaeus modeled that definition.  But, the truth about repentance is that it is more than an external visible act, but something which points to some serious heart work. 

 

Most of us can figure out how to change some of the externals of our life.  The difficult thing for us is changing the heart.  The heart is the source of our actions and motivations.  It is one thing to turn from speaking dishonestly, but another thing for the heart to be so radically changed that it is no longer an option.  Both John the Baptist and Jesus were calling for a radical change of the heart when they announced the nearness of the Kingdom of heaven.  A new reign requires a new loyalty.  A Kingdom with love as its foundation is now upon us and if there is anything within us that motives us to act other than love, then we do indeed have some radical work of the heart to do.