In image-oriented societies, people try to change their lives by changing their image.  Their gospel is simple. Image is everything, and when you change your image, you change your life.

Image is everything when you are a picture hanging on a wall, but I am not a picture, and a few brush strokes here and there won’t change who I am on the inside.

It’s always great to look good, but what I really want is to feel better on the inside.  If I feel good on the inside, I can deal with what’s happening on the outside without a problem.

Changing my image is easy, but changing who I am on the inside is hard.  Most people take the easy way out and focus only on their image.  They may not like who they are, but at least they look good.

A few people change their lives by changing the way they think.  They do something called repentance.  Repentance has nothing to do with your image and everything to do with changing who you are on the inside.  You can change who you are by changing the way you think.

Repentance starts in your mind and works its way down into your heart. Your old way of thinking and feeling is gone, and you get a whole new life.  You become a new person with new thoughts and feelings.  It’s kind of like being born all over again; it’s a fresh start.

I guess that’s why Jesus said that we need to repent and be born again.  We don’t need an image adjustment.  We need a whole new life.