My oldest daughter, Avery (6), was in her class and I was there to pick her up for lunch. As I waited outside her classroom I couldn't help but watch all the little faces walking by. It's fun to watch children when they don't know your watching. As I stood waiting something strange happened. As each child skipped by there was a gentle voice speaking in my soul..."repent". Repent...from what? No answer. To be honest I was a little offended. I don't know about you but "repent" carries a little baggage for me. Images of being beat down for all the bad things I've done. I certainly have never connected the simple innocence of children playing with repentance. Yet it was the only word willing to keep me company. Normally this is the point where I look for a distraction to recalibrate my mind, but this time I decided to just listen. Rather than trying to understand I waited for understanding. Slowly a question arose, could it be that repentance is simply a return to innocence? With that thought a gentle wave of emotion washed over me and I remembered for just a moment what it was like to be six and innocent. Not ignorant, but innocent.
I have a new understanding of the cost of that forbidden fruit that holds the knowledge of "good and evil", and a fresh view of repentance that has left my heart a little softer. I love when God shows up in unexpected places.
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Jesus, Matthew 4:17
"Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."
Jesus, Mark 10:15
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