Repent ... A New Beginning Is At Hand!

It's funny the things you think about walking down the road. In between enjoying the multicolored mists of morning and talking to people as they stop to inquire as to "what the heck are you up to?" there is a span of time when your mind takes a walk of it's own.

The other day in Osawatomie, we passed a fellow holding a sign that said. "Repent the end is near!" Now I didn't think much about it until yesterday's walk. I always thought that "the end is near" phrase was from the Bible and I thought it referred to the end of the world. I pictured John the Baptist shouting at the Pharisees. When I stopped to take a break, I asked Lucy about it. Who coined the phrase and what did it mean? Her understanding was similar to my own.

As I resumed my walking I wondered about "the end"...hmm...the end of what I thought. Why did we assume it was the end of the world. Maybe it meant that the end of the law was near and the beginning of grace and love had come. And didn't Jesus make a comment that was similar to John's? It bothered me and when our walking day was over, Lucy told me that the phrase in the Bible that both John & Jesus used was "Repent the kingdom of God is near."

Wellll...that puts a whole new spin on things. Repent (turn around or you're gonna miss it). You don't have o tremble in fear; you can jump for joy. There's a whole new life waiting for you in Christ. A new beginning is at hand!