The Commonly Missed Part of the Equation: Repentance

Frederica Mathewes-Green, writing about repentance in her book, The Illumined Heart:

     "The first time Jesus appears, in the first Gospel, the first instruction he gives is 'Repent.' 
     From then on, it's his most consistent message. In all times and every situation, his advice is to repent. Not just the scribes and Pharisees, not just the powerful--he tells even the poor and oppressed that repentance is the key to eternal life...
     Talk of repentance makes modern-day Christians nervous. We are embarrassed by the stereotype of old-fashioned preachers hammering on sin and making people feel guilty. We rush to assert that Jesus isn't really like that, he came out of love, he wants to help us. He knows us deep inside and feels our every pain, and his healing love sets us free.
     This is one of those truths that run out of gas halfway home. The question is, what do we need to be healed of? Subjectively, we think we need sympathy and comfort, because our felt experience is of loneliness and unease. Objectively, our hearts are eaten through with rottenness. A hug and a smile aren't enough. 
     We don't feel like we're rotten; if anything, we feel like other people treat us badly. One of the most popular myths of our age is that if you can claim to be a victim, you're automatically sinless."         
                                    Frederica Mathewes-Green