"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1st John 1:9 ESV
Ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God, humanity has
been covered by guilt and shame. God has done everything He can to cleanse us
of this plague that falls on humanity. His greatest gift to us was giving over
His Son, Jesus Christ, to be beaten and put to death on our behalf. All for the
forgiveness of our sins. Your sins. My sins. There is no other
"deity" in human history that does that, but God does. He pays the
highest price for something that is inherently unlovable, unworthy, and
undesirable.
But beyond cleansing our shame by giving Himself over to
death on the cross, God, through that sacrifice, adopted us into His family. He
made us spiritually rich men and women, all with one act of ultimate sacrifice.
He gave us the strength to do things that we could never hope to do on our own.
He exchanged our old nature for something new and ultimately improved. And in
all these things, He chose us to be involved in His work. He doesn't need me to
write this blog because he would get someone else to do it if I didn't. But I
have one thing, a question really, that plagues me...Knowing that God did and did
all these things, why do I allow myself to think that I should live my life out
in some shame?
The lie of God being some High and Mighty potentate that
sits around wanting to shame and punish us is one of the oldest tools of our
enemy. He will pull it out when we least expect it and most of the time when we
are at our weakest point. It is his go-to move. But we can overcome the slings
and arrows of the enemy. All we have to do is confess to God who we are and
tell our enemy who it is that we belong to.
Scripture tells me in James 5:16 that we are to
"confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be
healed." If we can't be honest with each other about the dark and dirty
stuff we carry in our hearts, then our enemy will keep us bound in the chains
of self-condemnation and shame and seriously hamper our ability to be effective
for God. I once read a quote by Richard Foster that said, "The disciplines
of confession brings an end to pretense. God is calling us into being a church
that can openly confess its frail humanity and know the forgiving and empowering
graces of Jesus Christ."
"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who
confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." Proverbs 28:13 ESV
I have heard it said that we are "only as sick as our
secrets." And to overcome the shame in my life, I have to stop hiding and
quit trying to cover it up. I have to be courageous enough to share my
struggles and let the grace and support of those around me help me heal. The
same applies to every single human being on the planet. I haven't figured
"it" out, but I have realized that I don't have to be perfect, and I
don't have to be ashamed of my past. God covered it. All of it. The dark and
dirty past that I lived through and rolled around in like a pig in mud, God has
washed away and forgiven. My enemy can bring it up, but I have the power,
through the Holy Spirit, to tell him that I am not subject to those things
anymore. And if you are saved in Christ, neither do you.
God is not out to get you in the way the enemy would have
you believe. He came to set us free from shame, cleanse us with His love and
grace, reinstates us into His family, and make us part of His work.
"For a good confession, three things are necessary: an examination
of conscience, sorrow, and a determination to avoid sin." ~Saint Alphonsus
Liguori
Comments
Post a Comment