My Current Opinion

We've probably all seen them. Street corner preachers, sometimes standing at busy intersections, earnestly exhorting the passing throngs to accept their brand of salvation. People in their cars can't hear them and those who even notice them are mostly amused and pitying. But who are we to judge the quality of the experience that this preacher is having. Imagine the intensity of the thoughts, emotions and even the physical sensations of one who is utterly convinced that they are doing God's work, the most important possible work in the world. How often have the rest of us felt that way? Regardless of what we may think of the limited scope of his vision, for him it is real and he burns with it. I think we are all secretly a little bit jealous.

Sometimes they hold signs: "John 3:16," "The end is near," or my favorite, "Repent." Put into a wider context than our street corner preacher would intend, repent is excellent advice. To repent is to feel remorse over things done or undone that have caused harm to self or others. It is essentially a recognition of the errors of our ways. Usually it is accompanied by a resolution to change for the better. Add forgiveness to the mix and we have a recipe for vastly improving our lives.

Knowing that our thoughts, feelings and deeds are largely responsible for making our lives what they are, we can find and deal with the things that we suffer from. Ultimately, there is nothing that cannot be healed. When recognition comes that a mental, emotional and/or physical habit is bringing us grief, we should not deny it but embrace it and repent. Be ready at any moment to realize an error and repent it. We must find the truth about ourselves and become more conscious of the ways in which we harm ourselves. Forgiving ourselves and changing our negative habits into positive ones will radically transform our lives. It may not occur overnight. It may take some time to develop but it will work because it follows the laws of physical manifestation.

So the next time you see a roadside or train station zealot who recommends repentance, see beyond his meaning to your own. If you can, take his tract, give him a small donation and respect him for doing God's work. He communicates more truth than he knows.

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