A number of years ago, I attended a State Gideons Convention in Covington, Kentucky. We stayed in a large motel, and our meeting rooms were some distance removed from our sleeping rooms. In spite of having a map, I got lost numerous times trying to get to meetings and meals, and back again to the room. Many times I simply had to turn around and go back the way I came. This is nothing new for me; to use politically correct terminology, I'm "directionally challenged." The fact I saw many others, as confused as I was, indicates I'm not alone.
All of us start out in life going the wrong way. Every one of us is born a sinner, carrying the curse of Adam's sin. We're walking away from God, getting further away from him each passing year. The only way we can turn around, change our direction, is through Jesus Christ. This change of mind, and change of heart, is what we call "repentance."
Some people think that repentance involves just being sorry for our sins, but sorrow, even godly sorrow, is not enough unless it results in repentance. One of the saddest sights to see is someone weeping in agony, under conviction for their sins, who still refuses to turn his or her life over to Christ. No one will enter Hell with dry eyes.
We're used to the idea that sinners repent when they come to know Christ. Salvation is a life-changing, transforming event. Instead of rushing down the wide highway to destruction, with most people in the world, we choose the narrow, straight path to eternal life. Even Christians, though, need to repent from time to time. We're prone to take detours and shortcuts, and turn onto winding and devious paths. Christ warned several of the churches to repent in John's account of the Revelation. Our salvation removes the ultimate penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23); it doesn't save us from the other consequences.
If we can look around us, and see the unsaved chugging alongside, going where we are, we're going the wrong way. If we indulge in sexual sin, greed, hatred, or anything else the Lord delivered us from, we bring dishonor to the name of Christ. This indulgence doesn't have to be some besetting sin; it can simply be a lifestyle too busy to make time for the Lord. If we spend our time wrapped up in our jobs, our families, or other interests, these are what we worship.
As Christians, we should be aware when we're doing things displeasing to the Lord. Like any good father, our Heavenly Father chastises us when we're disobedient. If we ignore his rebuke or punishment, we will eventually reach the point when we no longer care. If we can continue living in willful disobedience without once feeling any sense of the Lord's displeasure or grief, we are none of his. The pews in our churches are full of people who think they're Christians because they once repeated some prayer, but never really turned their lives over to Christ. A Christian, James says, should have evidence of their faith, which he calls "works." Paul calls this evidence the "fruit" of the Spirit, or the fruits of salvation. Jesus himself made clear that if we do not bear fruit, we are none of his, and he will cast us out of the vine.
What kind of fruit should we bear? The fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22, certainly. These involve both our inner and outer lives, our relationship with ourselves and with others. The working of the Holy Spirit should be evident in how we treat people day after day, both when they're nice and when they're not, whether they're beautiful or ugly. Inside, we should be at peace with ourselves and with God, with Christ at the center. This is the ideal; all of us fall short, but God made provision for that (see I John 1:9).
When we lead someone else to Christ, that's the best fruit of all. It's like a new plant springing up from the seed contained in a fruit; we have reproduced, and the new plant has the potential to do that as well. Whether or not we ever actively lead someone to the Lord, though (most Christians don't), we can still live in such a way that others see food fruit in our lives. A kind word or an act of compassion may prepare the soil so someone else can come along and plant a seed.
We can, and should, examine our lives, our motives and actions, regularly. This doesn't mean indulging in morbid self-preoccupation. It does mean, though, that we should take stock of where we stand, not in relation to other Christians, but in relation to the standard the Bible sets for us as followers of Christ. If we've turned aside, and headed off after our own wants and priorities, we need to change directions. In plain King James English, and any version of the language, we must repent!