Skip to main content

When We Sin

           My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (I John 2:1)

Let’s be brutal for a moment. Do you dismiss at least some of your sins as “not so bad”? Are they less bad than that other person’s? Which of them is not so much a sin as a bad habit or weakness? Is it worse to be found out to have made an error than to have sinned? Of course, I’m not talking about the big sins like murder, rape, or blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about little things like speeding, over-eating, and enjoying those videos in which someone gets hurt.

Someone (possibly Dallas Willard) suggested that God does not allow us to see or understand how completely ruined our souls are all at once, because it would destroy us. Instead, He works behind the scenes. He’s like the doctor in the video who is going to give a toddler a shot, so he tickles, pokes, makes faces, and effectively overstimulates the child so that when the needle is inserted, the child doesn’t even notice. All the stuff going on in our lives might be distractions that allow God to do what He must without our noticing.

          Instead of unveiling the everlasting horrors that we would see all at once, God tends to show us a tiny glimpse, and sometimes that’s devastating. And that’s where this verse comes in. When we recognize that we’ve sinned, we have someone who will stand by us. Don’t misunderstand, God has always been forgiving to those who sought forgiveness. But we not only have God tickling, poking, making faces and distracting us, we also have the Son holding our hand bravely, and the Spirit comforting (though that’s not mentioned here.)   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more