“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” — C.S. Lewis

Not long ago, my daughter and I went to Chick-fil-A to pick up sandwiches for our family. As I thought about this topic, I asked her, “When you hear the word ‘repent,’ what comes to mind?”

She answered, “It means I’m on the wrong path, not where God wants me, and I need to get on the right road.” To me, that’s a progressive response.

If repentance is like a road, it’s a narrow one.

Luke 13 opens up to cause us to reconsider our assumptions about labels, sin, suffering, and how we think about others and ourselves. The good news is that Jesus desires to set us on the right path, one that leads to Him.

Luke, who often focuses on healing, highlights spiritual health by mentioning the call to “repent” fourteen times more than any other biblical writer. 

Jesus told the self-righteous, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

 

The Trap of Labels

We live in a culture where people prefer to label others. If I told you I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, and South Carolina, your mind would instantly build a profile of me.

We do this not just with geography, religion, and politics, but also when we compare ourselves to others about sin. Each of us has our own way of judging. Even in Jesus’ time, religious leaders called him a friend of sinners and a glutton (Mt 11:19; Lk 7:34).

Remember the story of Jonah, he was bias in his mind against the Ninevites, he did not feel they were deserving nor would they be accepting of God’s grace. 

Opening Prayer:

Lord, help us see your heart in your Word. Open our minds and feed our doubts and worries with your comforting promises for those of us who call you Father. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Devotional Verses:

“At that time, some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. To this, He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” – Luke 13:1-5

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