GPS: Joseph, Nicodemus & Repentance

Repentance. It’s a loaded word, conjuring images of doomsday prophets with picket signs and fiery billboards flanking the drive south on I-35. But the word itself, metanoia in the Greek, simply means to “think differently after” and, in Hebrew, to “turn around.” It is a change of consciousness, which manifests itself in a change of conduct. Repentance moves beyond mere spiritual confession; it physically repairs.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had demonstrated a gross lack of integrity at the public trial of Jesus. They saw the forces of evil swirling through the damning crowd.

And they remained silent.

Have you, like Joseph and Nicodemus, let fear of what others think–fear of being excluded from the tribe–trump your integrity? It’s not too late to turn around, and take real action.

Joseph and Nicodemus were all about saving face. But then, they did an about-face. They turned toward the Light, and in a dramatic gesture, buried him in a tomb that utterly changed the course of history.