When many people hear the word repentance, they imagine groveling. Long lists of sins. Heavy shame. Maybe even punishment. But the word Jesus uses in the Gospels means something much different.
The Greek word is metanoia, and it literally means “to change your mind” or “to turn around.” Repentance is not about beating yourself up for what went wrong. It is about reorienting yourself toward what is good, what is life-giving, what is of God.
Think of it like walking down a road that leads to harm. Repentance is not standing there feeling sorry. It is turning around and walking a different way.
This is why Jesus connects repentance with joy. In Luke 15, heaven rejoices when someone turns back toward life. Repentance is not humiliation. It is liberation. It is God saying, “You can start fresh. You can choose again.”
A progressive faith takes repentance seriously, but not as shame. It sees it as courage: the courage to admit when something is not working, the courage to change direction, the courage to believe that God’s mercy is big enough to hold you as you turn toward love.
