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I Have a Confession to Make |
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If I am truly honest with myself then I must admit how many times I am not honest. I
don’t mean I’m a pathological liar. Oh, no, it is much more subtle than that. I mean that I
can always be more honest about who I am, what I believe and what I am doing and thinking.
Personal desires, selfishness, justification and rationalization
all play a part in keeping our false self prominent. Only
God can help us discover our
true selves. Our spiritual rebirth is the beginning
of our true and real self. Daily living in the freedom
of being real, honest and true is a process. Taking
responsibility for my thoughts and actions means
recognizing them and confessing my wrongs (sins).
God, of course, is aware of them, but the need to
own up to them is part of growing. Doing this, asking
God for the grace to not repeat the same behavior
and celebrating the reconciliation of “stepping
into the sunlight of the spirit” is part of
our personal resurrection to our new way of life.
It is not surprising that we resist looking at our sins. We hope (and pray)
that our spiritual activities will cancel them out. The problem with this should
be apparent. Whether we acknowledge it our not, our
past behavior, thoughts and attitudes continue to
influence our future behavior, thoughts and attitudes.
Everyone seems to accept the statement that those
who don’t know or learn from history are doomed
to repeat it. Do we not see that this applies to
us as individuals, too?
There is a cleansing and a benefit that comes from getting honest and confessing where
we’ve been wrong. The true benefit comes from going further.
We need to see what we can do to make things right.
Our willingness to make amends get us ready. Following
through on that readiness proves our sincerity.
God is not an angry, score-keeping judge waiting to whack us when we get out of line. He is the great,
merciful and constantly loving One desiring our continued
growth. Our relationship with God can only improve
when we confess our sins and rejoice in our reconciliation.
Experiencing this deeper honesty helps us to assume
responsibility for our actions.
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What is so easy to see as a parent is often most difficult
to accept as a child.
Your children will inevitably do things
that need correction. Sometimes punishment is part of
the consequence. If you really love your children you hope that the end result
is that they learn and don’t make the same mistakes.
You want them to know how much you love them and how
willing you are to help them in life. You hope the lessons
are learned, but you wonder if they are unless they somehow
communicate that they understand. If they start admitting
when they are wrong you know they’ve heard.
We are in exactly the same situation with God. Does this not make “forgive us of our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against us” have a renewed meaning? Boy, it sure does with me.
There is great evidence of the therapeutic value of confessing wrongs and a willingness to make amends.
Many recovery programs stress this. It is a vital part of 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
The Catholic Church, of course, has for centuries, stressed the importance of confession, or as it is
better known now, reconciliation. It is considered a sacrament and a way to receive grace that gives strength
to resist future temptation to sin.
Many protestant denominations are also seeing the value of the practice of confession and reconciliation.
God wants us to be real. Jesus told us the truth will set us free. We can discover so much from
about the danger of fooling ourselves and the value
of honest repentance. If we fail to come before God
with a humble and contrite heart then we end up with
an inability to relate rightly to our loving Creator.
When honestly confronting your sins, avoid comparing yourself to other people. If
we do that, it becomes very difficult to be completely real. Let’s not
say, “Lord, I’m so glad that I am not like that sinful tax collector over there!”
Maybe you are concerned about this confession process because you don’t want to
experience the pain of guilt. None of us welcome that. Part of the cleansing
process, though, is to take away the guilt. If you
repress your knowledge of sin, or fail to confess it,
you will inevitably burn with the guilt and remorse.
If not consciously, it will work on you in the hidden
recesses of your awareness.
We can do much to help others in this process by having a loving and understanding
attitude when people ask us for forgiveness. A priest, minister, sponsor or
understanding friend can be valuable. Any of us, though,
can help convey God’s forgiveness, mercy and
love by forgiving those who’ve wronged us and
together thanking God. Christians are encouraged to
confess their sins to each other
()
and I believe the Holy Spirit works wonders through us by
this process. Indeed, we are told it brings us healing.
Maybe it helps to realize that we simply will not achieve perfection in this lifetime.
Instead, welcome God’s grace and when you are wrong do something
about it. Be prompt in admitting your part and get
the ball rolling on that healing process James speaks
of. Then, like the father of the prodigal son, celebrate
because you are no longer lost, but found!
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of
International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering
of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International
Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All rights
reserved.
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MATTHEW
18:21-22
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Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord,
how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins
against me? Up to seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times,
but seventy-seven times.
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(NLT)
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