Is Repentance a Gift or a Pain?

The first words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Mark are these: “The time has come…The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). That little word “repent” has quite a big meaning, but it may not mean a lot to us today.

It’s unlikely we would ever hear someone being asked to repent in our broader cultural setting, although we might hear of someone being asked to take ownership for their actions, to take responsibility for their failings, or to apologize for their wrongs. While repentance does include taking personal ownership and responsibility for one’s actions, it means so much more and is perhaps a harder word to face into than anything we’ve mentioned yet.

The roots of the word settle in the idea of a change of mind, a significant shift in self-understanding and world-understanding. In the Jewish context of the Bible, repentance was the word used for an essential conversion, or change, in one’s life. Repentance is not just about what one says or appears to do in one moment but about a fundamental alteration of one’s life and direction.

To repent conveys both our need to acknowledge our wrongs before God and others (“sin” is the word for these wrongs in the Bible) and to turn from those wrongs in our lives in order to turn to God. This is not an easy thing, but a difficult thing. Confessions of sin is part of repentance. First, we name what is wrong and then we turn from what is wrong by God’s help toward a new way of living.

And so, in a sense, repentance is a major challenge in our lives. It is not easy and can be painful because it demands more than words but life change. Repentance can, to be honest, be a pain.

Yet, that pain is also a gift. If it is true that walking away from God and walking in our own way leads to death (Romans 6:23; Matthew 7:13-14) then to have that trajectory interrupted to lead us to life is grace. If it is true that God’s word is the source of life (Psalm 119:25) and that Jesus’ proclamation is the pathway toward freedom (John 8:31-32), then confrontation with our need to turn from ourselves and our wrongs is truly a precious gift.

We see this in our lives in many ways. If we have wronged someone, to ignorantly continue to do so unintentionally is something we never want to do. It is helpful to be rescued from ignorance in order to change our behavior for the better. If we wrong someone intentionally, the relationship will not be restored unless we name our wrong as wrong (confession) and then take a new course in the relationship that moves toward healing for ourselves and the other (repentance). Yes, it can be humiliating to admit we’re wrong but real life will not come without it. Repentance may be a pain, but it is also a gift.

The same is true in our life with God. While it may be true in some ways that “ignorance is bliss,” blissful ignorance of wrong will not lead to life. To let God’s word guide us toward life through repentance saves us from future pain. Even when we willfully resist God with wrong and sin, life will not come until we walk through the painful path of repentance in order to find life. There is no other way.

This is why Jesus has come: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). He issues this call not as a means of condemnation, but as a means of life and joy. “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (15:7).