Following Jesus
By Our Love For One Another
Jesus said you would be known by your love for one another. Repentance, in this talk, is a change in how you think and act, and love is something other people can see.
Coming up next Repentance is a Father who shares the mistake and keeps walking
Summary
He says he is preaching to himself, because loving people is hard for him and he is not looking for a fight. Jesus loves you as you are, and He does not intend for you to stay there. Repentance is not shame. It is pictured as the Father saying you messed up, so did He at your age, and then walking on, and the God's Word translation renders the word as change the way you think and act.
What should stand out is love people can see: curiosity before a verdict, repairing a mistake instead of defending it, forgiving without staying available to be harmed, and giving that costs something. Jesus treats this life as formation for the Kingdom, and what you did for the least of His people you did for Him. A long reign on the earth is preparation for living with the Kingdom's people, and you may be the only Jesus someone meets. Heaven, here, is a real place, and dying is not how you enter it.
He asks for one relationship repaired, one practice changed this week, and a moment of attention for someone you would usually pass. The benchmark Jesus gave is how you treat one another, not how well you argue a doctrine or read the original languages. He wants the word for repentance kept as a gift. He closes by saying a neutral-context translation of the Gospel of John is underway, hoped for by the end of February, and free for people to use.
