CONFESSING TO “SIN”
(February 1)
“If we say we have no sin (ὅτι ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔχομεν), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1: 8-9)
Is “sin” all that hard to admit, before a “faithful and just” God? No, not really. Because He can and “will,” indeed, “forgive” and “cleanse” me. It’s much harder, I’d say, to burden myself with self-justification, before myself and the rest of merely-human “others” and their opinions, neither “faithful” nor “just.”
To say that I have no “sin” (ἁμαρτία in Greek, meaning, “to miss the mark”) means to be in burdensome denial, about the truth of myself and others. Because, time and again, I do miss “the mark,” which is God’s specific call to me, or my “vocation,” to do what I am supposed to be doing, in the here and now. If I don’t have an honest, humble vision of how I do not hit that “mark,” at times, of His way for me, I will also have a distorted, not-compassionate vision of the truth about other people around me.
Today let me not fear honesty, before my merciful and just God, and take a few minutes for self-examination. Let me unburden myself from any masks I feel compelled to wear, before human opinion, and re-connect with God in honest, heartfelt prayer, as I am. Lord, let me have the joy and peace of knowing my “sin” as You know it, in Your undying love, justice and mercy. Amen!
