Turn two

My buddy John and I were going our separate ways after coffee last week and he did something that I had never seen. He pointed at me with two fingers, making a funny looking peace sign, only aimed at me. I had no clue what that meant - I thought it was one of those strange John things. (You'd have to know this guy to know the depth of oddity he carries daily :) - you'd also have to know him to know the depth of friendship and value he holds in my life).

Finally he asked me if I knew what that meant. I guess he could see the cluelessness on my face (that look goes away rarely in my waking hours). He explained that in the Navy, it was a sign that meant "Turn two". I remained clueless looking. He went on to explain that it meant to turn from what you were doing, and then turn again to what you should be doing - the job at hand.

It struck me as a pretty novel concept, and one that we are lacking in the body of Christ. I realized that John was talking about real repentance. So many times we define that word as 'turning from our wicked ways', but it is more than that. It is also turning toward Jesus. I find so many people who work like crazy at turning from their struggles and sin, hoping to get sinless and struggleless. And as I think about it, that sorta misses the whole point. Because Jesus is the point.

We couldn't fix ourselves. That is why Jesus came. We couldn't do it right enough. So He did it right for us. Real repentance is about turning two - away from our sin (as best we can), and more importantly, toward Jesus, because it is all about Him, not about us. When we get that through our heads, we are facing in the right direction.