Former area Bishop of Lewes, Wallace Benn, reminds us of the delight to be found in turning back to God
When the Lord Jesus began his ministry he proclaimed: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’ (Mark 1:15). Repentance is central to the Christian message and cannot therefore be downplayed or abandoned.
But what does it mean? It means to ‘have a serious change of mind and heart about a previous point of view or course of behaviour’1 (especially in the face of extraordinary developments). The arrival of the kingdom of God in the person of the Son of God was just such an eventuality that demanded this radical response.
