So, You Want To Get Better?

So, you want to get better?

Over the years I listened to hundreds of confessions of sins large and small.  Some let their story leak out slowly as if they were unwrapping a parcel, peeling back the layers of justifications they used to conceal the thing from the world and often even from themselves. Others sit down and after a few words the dam of emotion breaks and guilt floods over the room with a cascade of tears.  My hope as their pastor is not merely to relieve the guilt of those who sin. I also aim to compassionately point them in towards true repentance and renewed hope in Christ Jesus.  As much as telling our stories of betrayal, brokenness, abuse, and addiction can be difficult,  it is part of becoming whole and holy!

It is impossible to estimate how much suffering – physical, emotional, and spiritual – is created by hidden sin and the resultant guilt.  The Psalm speaks of the weight of guilt feeling like “bones that are crushed.” We cannot underestimate the power in this Scripture: "Prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." (James 5:15-17, NLT)  Until we match the Love of Jesus with our own depravity, we cannot be truly free nor can be we completely whole!  Our part is confession – owning our sins without excuse. His part is to give us mercy and grace, which He does in immeasurable ways.

In our human condition, we do not want to feel the sting of guilt. So, what do we do? We learn to shift the blame, to accuse and excuse. Pointing out the sins of another is not hard, is it?  We do not need the sleuthing skill of Sherlock Holmes to see the pride, selfishness, laziness, sensuality… (it’s a long list) that resides in the other guy. In counseling with married couples who are struggling to stay together, I find that she has a crystal clear vision of his failures and he of hers!  But, though he may understand something of his sin, he is certain it would change if only she would stop doing whatever it is that he claims is his trigger to sin! Healing only comes when blame is discarded.  Often those who yell the loudest about the sins of others are hiding the deepest cesspool of sin in their own mental backyard.  For example, I listen to accusations that ‘the church shows no love at all.’   “The people here are a self-centered bunch who care nothing for others.”  It takes great restraint to keep myself from pointing out that the speaker is a leading offender, indicted by her own words! Yet, there is seldom the slightest flicker of recognition of the irony of their words.

Even as I write today, I do so with genuine humility.  I am not exempt from this blindness to Self.  I frequently borrow the prayer of David "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. " (Psalm 51:10, NKJV) I do not lead a sinless life and my only hope of salvation rests on Christ who covers me with mercy that is completely undeserved.  In the same breath, I lay claim to ever increasing holiness through the work of the Spirit for "we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." (Romans 6:4, NLT)  "So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God." (Romans 6:11-13, NLT)  Confession leads me to the understanding that while I am not all I will be, and I am who I once was.

Here is the glorious promise, our word from the Word. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago." (Micah 7:18-20, NIV)  Don’t be reluctant to face yourself and think, to pray an honest prayer of confession, to go and own your failure.  Regardless of how others respond, God is faithful to forgive and our confession opens the path to healing of body, soul, and spirit.  Hallelujah!