What should I do if I find myself driving the wrong way down a one-way street (let’s not ask how I got there)? The first thing would be to stop (so I’m not actually breaking the law), better would be to turn around and drive the right way.
Do you ever make a wrong turn? And then, rather than turn around and go back, carry on and pretend(!) it is the way you had always intended to go. Why admit you’re wrong when there’s a chance you can convince me you’re not?
I don’t like being told I’m wrong – I don’t like admitting I’m wrong when I discover it for myself. But sometimes I need to know. The best essay I wrote at college came after my tutor told me what she thought of my first draft – I completely re-wrote the essay.
So Jesus came preaching “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matt 4:17). He isn’t trying to pull us down or embarrass us in front of everyone. He’s simply saying what is true because he wants us to turn around and become a part of the Kingdom of God – producing “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Mat 3:8).
Raymond