All Christian churches need to repent

Jesus told His people, who were waiting for God's rule to come someday in their land: God Himself governs our world. But we have not yet accepted Him as our King.  

God does not force His rule upon anyone. It is when we willingly and joyfully accept Him as our King that we enter His reign.  

Jesus taught very clearly how to make God's rule a reality in our lives. This writer understood this through two parables Jesus shared.  

The first is the story of the prodigal son. Acknowledging his own mistakes and justifying his father, the younger son surrenders himself to his father's rule with a repentant heart. Meanwhile, the elder brother stands outside, justifying himself. While the elder one remains outside, self-justified, the younger one enters the house by condemning himself and justifying the father.  

The door to God's kingdom stands wide open. God has given humanity the freedom to enter or refuse.  

Another story that illustrates this is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. The Pharisee justifies himself while condemning everyone else. But the tax collector condemns himself and justifies God. The tax collector, who acknowledges his sin, has the humility to grow and change. But the self-justifying Pharisee closes the door to transformation—just like the elder brother of the prodigal son, he expects God to accept him on his own terms. Yet the truth is, God never rejects anyone. It is not God who must accept us—we must accept Him. The tax collector accepted God and invited Him to rule his life. The Pharisee, however, does not accept God; instead, he expects God to accept him.  

This is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching. But today, the thousands of churches worldwide that exist in Jesus’ name must examine themselves: Are they like the Pharisee or the tax collector? Every church justifies itself while condemning others. Each claims, "We are the true church; all others have gone astray."  

The Pharisee was a good man. Everything he did was good. But his self-righteousness rendered his good deeds worthless.  

Today, all Christian churches in the world are in the same way. They do good things, but their self-justification strips their good works of any value.  

O Lord God, You alone are holy. We are all sinners, knowingly or unknowingly. If all Christian churches, like the prodigal son, come before God with repentant hearts and openly confess this, a fundamental change will happen in Christianity. As a result, our world will also experience joy and peace.