When was the last time you messed up? Oh, just this morning? Me, too.
When we mess up, the culture around us usually encourages us to handle it in one of two ways: hide it or flaunt it. This is true about hate, pride, perfectionism, lust, racism, drugs, gluttony and a whole laundry list of other things we struggle with. There are billions of dollars made by industries that cater to our desires to either suppress these things or indulge in them.
I was reminded of a different way to handle sin this morning–a counter-cultural way. I read from Psalm 51, where the writer was struggling with the things that were wrong in his own life. He does something that our culture rarely encourages us to do: he simply, honestly takes his sin to God and asks for mercy.
“God, be merciful to me because you are loving. Because you are always ready to be merciful, wipe out all my wrongs. Wash away all my guilt and make me clean again. Take away my sin, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:1-2,7 ICB)
He doesn’t hide it. He doesn’t take pride in it. He is honest about it, and knows that it needs to be dealt with. He also knows that God is the one who can do what needs to be done.
Our church has just begun a new series on Rocks. When I think about rocks, one of the first images that pops into my mind is how much my boys love to throw rocks into water. It never fails. Every opportunity they see to throw rocks, they seize it! And they do not stop throwing rocks until they are asked/convinced/made/forced to do so.
When I think about how God handles our sin, one of the images that comes into my mind is this verse from Micah 7:
“There is no God like you. You forgive people who are guilty of sin. You don’t look at the sins of your people who are left alive. You, Lord, will not stay angry forever. You enjoy being kind. Lord, you will have mercy on us again. You will conquer our sins. You will throw away all our sins into the deepest sea.” (v.18-19 ICB)
God does not celebrate our sins or try to hide them or just commiserate about them. He takes care of them. He alone has the power to remove them, to wipe them away, to throw each one into the depths of the sea.
God would spend forever throwing the rocks of our sins into the ocean if that’s what needed to be done. (I picture him, like my boys, actually delighting in it.)
His mercy to us looks like more than just throwing rocks, though. His mercy to us is that he gave up his own life, in exchange for ours. He paid the price we owe. His mercy is the only solution for our problem.
So sister, stop trying to hide your sins from Jesus. Brother, don’t try to hold on to your dirty rocks. God wants to remove them. He wants to rid your heart of its filth. He wants to throw them into the sea. He just asks that you hand them over.
Comments