“A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.” —Matthew 21:28,29

Repentance has long been an important theme for Lent, but many are put off by the idea since it seems to demand one big life-changing event. A friend of mine had a big poster on his wall that said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” In small print at the bottom it said, “If you have already repented, please disregard this notice.”

But I contend that we should never disregard that notice since repenting is something we must do again and again and again throughout our lives.

The Greek word we translate as “repent” simply means to change direction. The son in today’s parable repented of his first answer. He changed his mind and did what his father asked him. He started out in the wrong direction, but finally turned to the right one.

I have come to view the Christian life as a continual process of course correction. Our instincts are often wrong, our decisions often bad, and we easily get off course. We hurt others; we hurt ourselves.

But the good news is that God loves us enough to want us to get back on track. Like a GPS of the soul, God’s love keeps beckoning us to come home, and in our several turnings find our way back to God.

Prayer: O God, keep us ever turning and returning toward you. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the one who called himself “the Way.”

(This is my United Church of Christ Daily Devotional for March 19, 2017. To see the original go here. To subscribe to the Daily Devotional and receive it every day by e-mail go here.)