Last year, I was very fortunate to travel to Greece and Turkey on a pilgrimage following the footsteps of St Paul. It was an incredible experience. One thing that struck me over and over again, was just how much meaning we have lost through translations over the years. The very first Bibles were written in Greek before they moved into Latin, English and then all other languages. One of the first things Jesus says in the Bible is to repent. Unfortunately, the word ‘repent’ has been misinterpreted into telling our children they are naughty if the don’t clean their rooms or help Mum around the house. The word ‘repent’ actually comes from the Greek work ‘metanoia’ which means to change one’s mind or to change the way you think. Today is Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent which is the 40 days leading up to Easter where we are asked to ‘repent’ and reflect upon our relationship with God. This Lent, how can we change the way we think about God? I once read that God doesn’t love us because we are good. God loves us because he is good!
