Changing Trains - What Jesus Meant by "Repent"

 

Walking Through the Gospel of Mark • Part 4

As you walk into the train station in my hometown of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, you see two sets of railroad tracks. One carries trains north. The other carries trains south. If you arrive on a southbound train, step off, and then board a northbound train, you have done more than simply change trains—you have completely changed your direction.

That simple picture captures the very heart of what Jesus means when He calls us to repent.

Repentance is more than feeling sorry for our sins. It is a change of direction. It is a change of heart and mind that leads us away from ourselves and toward God. We leave one way of living behind in order to begin another.

Jesus makes this even clearer in His call to His first disciples:

"Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

Notice that Jesus does not simply invite them to believe certain truths about Him. He calls them to follow Him. To leave their boats. To leave their old way of life. To trust Him enough to walk in a completely new direction.

That same invitation is extended to us today.

Repentance is not something we do once and then leave behind. It is the daily decision to get out of our own "boats" and follow Christ. Every day He asks us to place our plans, desires, and ambitions beneath His will and to trust that His way is better than our own.

The opposite of repentance is not simply bad behavior. It is insisting on going our own way instead of God's.

Our culture often tells us, "Just be yourself," or "Do whatever makes you happy." Yet whenever we choose our own will over God's will, we slowly drift away from the life He created us to live.

The New Testament often describes sin as "missing the mark." Imagine an archer aiming at the center of a target. God's will is the bull's-eye. Every sinful choice pulls the arrow farther away from the center. Repentance is not merely regretting the missed shot—it is learning to aim once again at the right target.

This is why repentance is not a one-time event. It is a daily struggle and a daily grace. Every morning we must ask ourselves:

"Am I moving closer to Christ today, or farther away?"

One of my favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show beautifully illustrates why repentance is often so difficult. In the episode, "Opie and His Hobo Friend," a drifter comes to Mayberry and befriends Opie. Andy gives the man some work around the house, and as they sit on the front porch discussing how to trim the bushes, Opie innocently asks,

"When are you going to start?"

The hobo smiles and replies,

"We'll start first thing tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Opie asks.

"Yes. I'll be fresher then. It's the most perfect day. To start any job—tomorrow. The most marvelous day that was ever invented. Why, there is absolutely nothing a man can't do tomorrow."

How often do we live exactly that way?

Tomorrow I'll pray.

Tomorrow I'll forgive.

Tomorrow I'll begin reading Scripture.

Tomorrow I'll break that bad habit.

Tomorrow I'll become the husband, wife, father, mother, or disciple that Christ is calling me to be.

But Jesus never says,

"Follow me tomorrow."

He simply says,

"Follow me."

His invitation is always present.

His grace is available today.

Like the trains leaving the station in Rocky Mount, every day our lives move in one direction or another. We are either drawing closer to Christ or drifting farther away from Him.

The question is not whether we will travel.

The question is this:

Which direction are we going?