A patient, while recovering in the hospital from a heart attack, met this over zealous evangelist. For half an hour, the preacher lectured the man on being thankful for God's mercy and repenting immediately of his sins.

"Tell the truth, brother," the pastor remarked. "During your heart attack, didn't all your sins flash before your eyes?"

With a mischievous grin, the patient responded, "Don't be ridiculous, the attack only lasted six hours!" (1)

None of us likes to hear the word "repent," do we? At best, it sounds old-fashioned and alarmist. At worst, it hits too close to home. If there were ever a subject from which we'd like to distance ourselves, it would be this concept of repentance.

A Sunday School teacher once asked a class what was meant by the word "repentance." A little boy p…