In the Bible there is one word that captures what it means to have the spirit of your mind transformed, the eyes of your heart renewed. It was one of the first words Jesus used in his first sermon (Mark 1:15 ) and one of the last words he told his disciples to proclaim (Luke 24:47 ). The prophets used it (Isa. 30:15 ); the apostles used it (Acts 2:38 , 17:30 ). When Martin Luther started the Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, he put this first: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

Repentance is a comprehensive process. It’s not episodic: stop doing that. Nor is it only what someone does at the beginning of choosing to follow Jesus. It’s a life orientation of learning to go with the grain of reality, with the flow of God’s will, aligning with our Creator’s intention. Repentance is not a heavy burden imposed on us; it’s an invitation to become more human, to be more free, to have the image of God gradually restored in us. It feels like hard work (Luke 9:62 ), but it leads to rest for our souls (Isa. 30:15 , Matt. 11:29 ). Repentance is an invitation to live into the way God sees things, which means to live into the way things really are. Repentance is Jesus’ invitation to stop running, turn back, and live in the Father’s embrace.