No more shame...

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness" I John 1:9

As Christians, we are familiar with the whole notion of confessing one's sins. But until recently, I don't think I had ever seen it in quite the right light.

Confessing comes from the word "agreeing." Agreeing with God's assessment of any action/behavior/attitude/choice. Since He knows the truth of any situation, unless we agree with Him, we are either ignorant, in denial or lying to ourselves and to Him. 

He who could have been born in the richest castle chose instead to come into an earthy manger.

I used to think the purpose of confessing my sin was to humble me, to strip me of cover so to speak and remove the "foreskin of my heart" (using a nice biblical phrase and putting a noble spin on it). It may well have been so, but now I see a much simpler purpose and a much more edifying one: God wants me to be in reality, it's the only way I can grow spiritually or even relationally.

Think of your child. If some minor disaster had just happened and your child was clearly lying to you about it, then you would be at a standstill so to speak. Without being able to talk about what happened, you couldn't go anywhere in terms of forgiving him or showing him how to avoid that in the future or possibly even consoling him or her (I have often consoled my loved ones over their own mistakes). 

I don't believe it's all that different between us and God. God does not live, move and have His being in a lie yet He is full of compassion. I want to learn to agree with God without berating myself. I don't think He berates me. He just wants us to move on, He wants us to grow. 

God is Love

God is Love

God is Love