The public ministry of Jesus began after John prepared the way in the desert of Judea near the Jordan River. John’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). The first words of Jesus after his baptism and temptation were “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

After four hundred years of silence when no prophet from God appeared, God broke the silence with a call to repent. God’s people were to turn away from what entangled them—their sin and the consequence of their sin, death—to the God of grace who had sent them the answer and rescue from sin and death, his Son, Jesus.

The call to repent hasn’t changed over the centuries. It still comes to those who do not know Jesus. They are trapped in the mess of this world’s problems and in their own problems. With the simple message of the gospel, God invites those lost and helpless to turn away from their hopeless state and turn toward Jesus.

But once someone turns toward Jesus, he or she soon discovers that living in this sin-polluted world is not easy. Like so many others whom God has given the power to turn toward Jesus, we also find that our lives are not so neatly black and white, sin and grace, before Jesus and after Jesus. We discover a battle every day. Sin still clings to us, and we smell its foul odor when we fail to bring forth fruits of repentance and instead become selfish, loveless, proud, and smug. Like the apostle Paul, we anguish over the good we want to do but fail to do and the evil we don’t want to do but manage day after day to do (Romans 7:7-25).

So the call to repent is our daily challenge—turn away from the sin within that still infects our hearts, souls, and minds and cling to the forgiveness, hope, victory, and life that Jesus has given us. In turning toward Jesus, we grasp his power to renew our struggle against sin and grow to be better disciples on the journey through life. Our faith is refreshed. Luther observed that the entire life of a Christian is one of repentance.

God’s law still crushes our sinful nature. It’s still painful. The muddle of our lives reminds us what a mess we can make of our lives on our own and sometimes what a mess we can make even of our work together as believers. Death, disease, heartache, and pain stalk us like a pack of wolves.