Soul Mold!

After 32 years in full-time Pastoral ministry, there are moments when I am still surprised by the confessions I hear! Sometimes it’s not the confession but the revelation of the secret sins of another that shakes me to the core. Yesterday, I saw a news report about a friend from the past, that broke my heart. It was a sordid tale of sin that had overtaken the man. Whenever I hear about a preacher’s affair, or a secretary’s theft of money, or a the discovery of a long-standing drug habit, or something similar, it makes me so very sad because I know the pain, the shame, the loss of relationship that come with such things. And, each story is a cautionary tale, for me, too! I remember what the Word teaches me about the universal nature of sin’s temptations. "Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence."
(1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message)

If we want to avoid the traps of temptation, here’s the paradox: we must acknowledge that we all deal with two natures! There is the possibility of missing God’s best in me, in you! The sobering fact is that everyone of us still deals with a sinful nature. In the book of Romans we read: “For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:22-24 NIV There we find a glimpse of the reason why Christians still can be cruel, selfish, materialistic - a saint and a sinner in the same body!

So where do we find safety from sin’s assaults? How is the influence of our sinful nature diminished and the goodness of the Spirit released?

We let the Light shine into every corner of our lives!
A quote from a Supreme Court Justice who served from 1916 to 1939, Louis Brandeis, says, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant!" He referred to the corruption that goes on when government operates behind a cloak of secrecy, without accountability. His observation has an application to each of our lives. In those areas we hide from others, that we keep carefully wrapped in secrecy - sin has an opportunity to flourish! So-called 'little' lies we tell to spare ourselves shame, become a breeding ground for increasing deception - of others and even ourselves. Compromises that seem to be insignificant, that are excused as just 'going along to get along,' open us to temptations for greater sins over time. Refusal to tell ourselves the truth about what we have done increases the need to hide from reality.

Brandeis’ insight is not new. The Bible says, (1 John 1:6-10, NIV) "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

The Christian is called to pursue integrity by living with transparency of heart. In this way, the Light of Christ can disinfect his soul! A believer who is serious about holiness must not continue to muck about in secrecy, mistakenly thinking that he is preserving his 'dignity' with pretense of being better than he is. He must own up to who he is and what he has done and understand what he is capable of doing. Then, he finds the forgiveness of God and the grace by which he can stand! Are you living with secret sin today, carefully tucked away from public view? It's time to let the Light shine in. Sometimes it is enough to confess our 'darkness' to God alone. There are parts of us that are transformed by owning our sinfulness before the Lord and sincerely asking for His forgiveness, His strength to overcome.

Then, too, many of the dark places are simply too engrained for us to deal with alone. In those struggles we need an ally, sometimes several allies. As difficult as it may be to do, find a trusted counselor and open up your heart. Find someone who knows grace and who knows how to lead you to the One who is Grace Incarnate. Together, pull open the door that has been shutting out the Light.

And, then there is this: Holiness is found in community, not because we can create our own perfection, but because as we open up to one another with acceptance, the Light of Christ shines onto the infection of sin and destroys it even as we minister loving grace to each other! Disciple, be loving and accepting! Be like Jesus Christ who always accepted people as they were without affirming what they did! Think about that. Accept people, challenge behavior! You may help someone find their way out of the darkness by becoming “Jesus with skin on” to them! We may never know what demons torment another person in the dark corners of his mind if we are quick to judge, heavy on condemnation. Love! Listen! Lift the heavy burden of guilt and shame by taking them to the Cross where all our sins are forgiven.

Let’s give no place to darkness. In Sunday School as a child we happily sang-
"So let the Son shine in, face Him with a grin,
smilers never lose, and frowners never win,
so let the Son shine in, open up your heart
and let the Son shine in!"

The mold of the soul, the sin that destroys, dies when the Light shines.
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