“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
These are the first
words of Jesus in the gospel according to Mark and I find it very
interesting that the first command that Jesus gives is “repent” because
that literally means “to think again” or “to rethink”.
I say I find it interesting because it is not rare to find people who
view Christians as people who do the exact opposite – who don’t think
and refuse to think. And while I will not deny that there are Christians
who give support to this view, I will submit
that this problem is not limited to Christians but is fast becoming the
default condition in the world in which we live. You could call this the
age of skepticism, where people are encouraged to question but NOT to take the time to seriously think about the question. There is a skepticism that
encourages thought and discovery but that is not the kind of skepticism
that you will see flourishing today, where people are content to pass
through life without seriously considering the big questions of life. An
example might help - two men are both skeptical
about the existence of the state of Michigan. They both have one or two
good reasons for this skepticism but here is where they differ: one of
the men uses this skepticism to delve into the evidence, to search out
for the truth, to find answers to the hard
questions while the other uses his skepticism to disregard the question
altogether, to stop seriously thinking any more about the issue,
relying on that one reason to support his choice.
Here is the point,
regardless of whether or not you say you believe in Jesus Christ, have
you thought about it? I mean really thought about it? Have you read and
considered the words of Jesus himself? Have
you read and considered ANY of the writings of the many great thinkers
of the past – Christian and non-Christian? Have you used your skepticism
to search out the truth, to stimulate thinking? Or have you become
content living the rest of your life without seriously
investigating whether or not your beliefs are true? Whether or not your
beliefs correspond with reality? Jesus believed that his words, his
life, his worldview would hold up under serious thinking. He commands us
to think again about life. To think again about
serious questions related to our existence. To think again about a life
spent with him. Will you?
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