This text is familiar to me. I grew up Lutheran. These words were used in our weekly confession/forgiveness portion of the worship service. I took some time today to really let those words sink in. We are sinners. Period. There can be no debate.
What we do tend to do is look around and compare. We think our sins aren’t as bad as that person’s, right? I know I’m not the only one who has done this. But truth be told, a sin is a sin. To God, any sin separates us from him. Every sin, big or small, needs the same antidote, God’s forgiveness. Why do we try to fool ourselves into thinking we’re not sinners? Maybe it’s because we have done something a certain way our whole life but didn’t realize it was a sin. Perhaps we are just in denial saying something like, “well, at least I didn’t kill someone.” We try our best to be “good” people, doesn’t that count?
Instead of trying to be so righteous, we need to come clean with God. We need to confess our mistakes, our sinful behaviors, our wayward hearts. Of course, God already knows we messed up. He needs to know we know. He wants us to confess.
There is power in a confession. It takes the power of the sin away. When we hold on to our sins, for whatever reason, they can only fester and lead to more sinning. John’s words here tell us that when we confess our sins, God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” That should be reason enough to want to let go of them. To be cleansed. To be forgiven.
Imagine a child who breaks his mother’s expensive antique bowl and then tries to hide it. There is no way that little child is going to be able to forget what he did. The longer the sin is hidden and not confessed, the more the child is going to struggle. It’s like carrying around a huge load of bricks. There is so much weight holding you back. But once this child confesses and comes clean, there will be a sense of peace and release. While his mother may show signs of anger or disappointment, and there may even be punishment involved, the bottom line is that she loves her child. Nothing can change that. Even a broken bowl.
God wants to forgive us, too. We shouldn’t try to hide our sins from him. If we do, or pretend they aren’t there, we make God a liar. What message does that send to God? That we don’t care? That we don’t believe in his promise of forgiveness? That we are somehow better than he is?
While I recognize I’m a sinner, I struggle with knowing the full extent of what my sins are. My heart is selfish. I can attest to that. I like to have things go my way. I may not be the most giving and tend to be a bit of a miser. I’m working on these things. What else? I want to be clear on my sinfulness so I can confess it. What are some of your obvious sins? Do you have some hidden ones, too?
It’s time we confess them all. God is faithful and just. He will forgive us. What are we waiting for? Are we afraid? Take some time today to think of those behaviors that are keeping you separated from God. Those are the sins we need to confess.
Let’s pray. Lord, I come to you on my knees today and cry out for your forgiveness. Forgive me for when I don’t put you first in my life. Forgive me for when I let the distractions of the world crowd my head with lies. Forgive me when I gossip. Forgive me for all those sins you see that I don’t even know I’m doing wrong. Use me, this broken vessel, to speak to others about your saving grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
