Matthew 3:2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Some people have a difficult time with new foods. Either the smell, or the look, or just the idea of the food prevents some people from trying something out of their ordinary. I am not the kind of person who will eat anything, like some of those famous TV eaters, but I am willing to try many new things. I have eaten scorpions and silk worm larvae.
We can make up our minds in an instant, can’t we! And once that initial reaction is set, it can be very hard to move beyond it to acceptance of that new thing. We are a people who make up our minds very rapidly.
Most of us recognize the words on the typical street preachers placard: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is here. Or “Repent or fry” as I like to phrase it. (SMILE) There isn’t much appealing about the Good News when it is phrased like this. It might be true, but it is hard to get past the initial taste.
So can you imagine hearing those words from a person dressed in a camel’s hair outfit, accessorized with a leather belt. Then throw in his diet of locust and wild honey, and most of us would be running in the opposite direction. We would not hang around to hear what he had to say.
Unless, of course, we were in a desperate situation. If we are hurting deep enough for long enough, we will try almost anything, regardless of the packaging or our initial reaction.
And that seems to be exactly what happened with John the Baptist. He had all the outside packaging that yells, “Run away! Nothing here of importance.” But underneath the exterior, there was a prophet of God.
I wonder how many homeless people we would listen to dressed as they are, smelling as they do, living in the way they do, rummaging through dumpsters? The outside prevents us from hearing their inside, their story, their wisdom. We miss so much because of these jumps to conclusions about people.
So I can imagine the reactions to John by those who saw him for the first time and heard him say, perhaps even shout, “Repent!” Not the easiest introductory comments. I think he needed to get a good PR team to help with his presentation.
I think that we often spend too much time with the PR team. I think we need to stop being afraid of acceptance, and speak the truth in love. Jesus said the world would hate us as it hated Him. So, should we expect a different outcome? NO!
The priority needs to be the message, not the package. If our lives sing a song of praise to the LORD and His grace, then people will see our lives and want what we have. But too often our lives sound just like the world.
Maybe it is time for us to repent. Maybe it is time for us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
The Arnold Journey 