Sale Now On.
Those are three words that you’ll rarely hear whispered. It’s not the kind of announcement you’d make with hushed tones. This is the kind of statement you make as a declaration to drive action. The action that sees a stampede of people rushing to make the most of what’s on offer. You can see the eyes of people become enlightened at the thought that they could save, Save, SAVE! You can feel the buzz as they work out that the item they wanted for so long can be clinched at a price they never thought possible. Few people will stop and think about why the sale is going on. Few people will look at it as an opportunity that the seller knows will generate a lot more funds and greater shopping than would have happened on regular days. Most people taking that news in will only look at what they can gain, and then they’ll turn their attention to that. They would not want to miss that – they get the impression they’d be sorry if they did miss out.
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” does not sound like Sale Now On. Said in a particular tone from the hell and brimstone types, you could get the impression that this is more the kind of alert you respond to out of fear than out of delight. The term repent does have the aspect of the call to be sorry again. The call to repentance requires acknowledging being in a situation that should render sorrow. Yet what Jesus is announcing is an invitation. It’s the kind of invitation that should be considered of greater value than even the phrase, “Sale Now On!”
The invitation being presented should render sorrow largely because of missing the point. All efforts of life that are not centred on the target of living for the glory of God miss the point. And plenty of efforts are set up with good intentions that still miss that point. It’s important to be responsible for your key relationships. It’s important to be responsible, to work well and wisely, to function and navigate the issues of life. It’s important to live life to good standards. They’re all important, but there are efforts that give the impression that these go from importance to idolatry. Pious people going through the motions of piety, giving others the impression that they know the right thing to do and can talk with authority about it, can still miss the point because of the internal insecurity and pride that fuels their piety. That means so many of us can go from one thing to the other, looking to do our best to keep things in balance. As we do that, we can still miss the point.
So, what Jesus presents is an invitation to find the real point of life. The real point is the presence of the rule of God. We can now not just realise that we’re missing the point, but we can have our sights redirected to get to the point. We can go from blundering in missing the point to reaching the point by responding to the invitation.
Jesus’ call to repent is not just to make us feel bad about what we’ve missed and been missing. It’s to focus on what is available when we turn from being selfish or making idols of the smaller issues in life. The marvels and wonders of God’s rule are seen in provision and peace, character and consistency, humility and holiness, responsibility and righteousness, work and wisdom, all under the coverage and instruction of the ruler of the universe. Jesus’ call to repent is the alert to an invitation to turn from darkness to light and from loneliness to fulfilment in the family of God. It’s not a one-off invitation because we’re prone to wander from keeping the main thing, the main thing. So, time and again, we repent and appreciate the beauty and grace of the invitation to enter the rule of God.
When we see the marvel and the wonder for what it is, this is something we don’t want to miss. This is something we wouldn’t want anyone to miss. This is something we’d be sorry to miss. Repent, God’s Kingdom is here – that’s even better than the sale now on.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
To help apply the principles from what you’ve read, here are practical tips:
Ask (Reflections to Make)
- What areas of my life have I prioritised over God's rule, and how might these distract me from His purpose?
- How do I view repentance—do I see it as a burdensome obligation or as a joyful invitation to realign with God’s kingdom?
- Do I recognise areas where pride, insecurity, or self-reliance might be fuelling my actions instead of humility and dependence on God?
Seek (Actions to Take)
- Spend time reading and meditating on Scriptures that highlight the beauty of God’s kingdom (e.g., Matthew 6:33, Luke 15:7) to deepen your understanding of His invitation.
- Identify one specific area in your life where you’ve been "missing the point" and take a deliberate step to turn away from it and align it with God’s will.
- Engage in acts of service or generosity that reflect God’s character, helping you focus on living for His glory rather than personal gain.
Knock (Prayer for God’s Sake)
- Pray for God to reveal areas in your life where repentance is needed and for the strength to respond joyfully to His invitation.
- Pray for God to reveal areas in your life where repentance is needed and for the strength to respond joyfully to His invitation.
- Lift up friends, family, or community members who may have lost sight of God’s purpose, praying that they will hear and respond to His invitation.
