One-Off?

“John told them, ‘…[B]ear fruit worthy of repentance…’”

Matthew 3:8

One-off. You’ve heard that reference, that phrase, before. It came from the Brits but has slowly been adopted in our country as well. It means something that happens or is made or done only once. It could be that one-of-a-kind designer dress or outfit a celebrity will wear at an upcoming awards event. Each Apollo Command Module was built for only a single flight. Your 50th wedding anniversary was, or will be, a one-off celebration. There will only be one Feb. 26, 2026.

Want to know what cannot be a one-off? Our conversion. Some may think that the mere decision to accept Jesus into our life is sufficient. We seem to be under the impression that when we make that decision then suddenly everything is different, we are different. We may have a date or an event that started it all off, but if we are really honest with ourselves, our conversion is full of fits and starts, too often marked by “one step forward and two steps back.”

Yes, I have heard of miraculous conversions when someone turns their life over to Jesus Christ, and it takes. No looking back. That person is miraculously changed from that day forward.

But that is not the experience for most of us. For most of us, conversion is an on-going process, a life-long process. A quote, long-attributed to St. Augustine,^[1] speaks of this understanding: “The Church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners.” A contemporary of Augustine, John Cassian, spoke of the danger of complacency by Christians, calling it “pas perniciosa,”^[2] or a dangerous or pernicious peace which gives one a false sense of serenity grounded in self-satisfaction, isolating us from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sounds like settling for just being “good enough.”

To avoid the self-deception of being satisfied at settling is understandable in a way. Living our lives in Christian community while tending to the interior life of prayer, reflection and repentance is exhausting … all on top of our jobs and raising our families! And, after all, isn’t grace sufficient? Yes, but our response to that gift of grace should bring about the slow work of transformation in our lives. Embracing our conversion as ongoing is the only path for growth, the only path in which our lives might grow to “bear the fruit of repentance.”

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

“A Prayer of Self-Dedication,” Book of Common Prayer, p. 832

[1] Seeing God For Who He Really Is, “The Church – A Hospital for Sinners,” https://seeinggodclearly.com/2021/06/24/the-church-a-hospital-for-sinners/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe church is not a,following quote also belongs to:. Accessed February 10, 2026.

[2] John Cassian, Conferences, 4.7.