The Time Has Come

Mark 1:15. After John is arrested, Jesus walks into Galilee and announces that the time has come, that the kingdom of God has come near, and that the fitting response is to repent and believe the good news. Mark does not slow down to explain. He simply reports what Jesus said first, and everything that follows in his Gospel unfolds from it.

Notice the order. The announcement comes before the command. God has acted; therefore turn and trust. Repentance in the Bible is not mainly a feeling of regret but a change of direction, a turning of the whole person toward God. Belief is not a private opinion but a leaning of one's weight on what God has said.

On a Friday in early June, with the week nearly spent, this verse asks a plain question. Where has your direction been this week, and where will it be by Sunday? The kingdom is near. It was near in Galilee, and by the Spirit it is near in your kitchen, your commute and your inbox. Turning is possible today, not because you have gathered enough resolve, but because God has already come close.