When You Fall
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”—1 John 1:8-10
My 10-month-old son is getting into everything. He somehow manages to find every closet, cabinet, box, basket, and shelf. He crawls so fast that my knees hurt just hearing every soft thud on my wooden floor. But, I have noticed something about my little boy. He is pulling himself up and walking around tables and chairs. Yes, my son is learning to walk. I have tried to get him to let go of the table or chair and just walk on his own, but he only makes it a step or two and then plumps right down on his backside. Nonetheless, he pulls himself up again to walk around, ready for the next moment in time when I try to get him to take another step. And, as parents we know that he is not going to need that support forever. He will start walking, first one step, then another, and another, and on and on. And once that happens he will fall less and less. He still will occasionally fall, but the idea is that the older, wiser, and more mature he gets, it will be less and less.
The same is true for us spiritually. When we first came to Christ we fell back into our old ways of living over and over again. Just when we thought we took a great step of faith, we inevitably fell. But, like my son, we should be doing less and less the more that we grow in our walk with Jesus Christ. We know that we sin and we will sin, although it should be less and less as the years pass. But, what do we do when we sin? We confess them to the Lord in the spirit of godly sorrow, asking God to forgive us because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. If we fall into sin, we don’t stay in it, wallowing in it, rather we confess to Christ, ask Him to forgive us and stand up to walk in the resurrection life that has been appropriated to us through our faith in the risen Savior.
Don’t stay in your sin, beloved. If you have sinned, confess it and cry out for God to forgive you. And once you do, take joy in the promise that He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”—1 John 1:9. Amen.
My 10-month-old son is getting into everything. He somehow manages to find every closet, cabinet, box, basket, and shelf. He crawls so fast that my knees hurt just hearing every soft thud on my wooden floor. But, I have noticed something about my little boy. He is pulling himself up and walking around tables and chairs. Yes, my son is learning to walk. I have tried to get him to let go of the table or chair and just walk on his own, but he only makes it a step or two and then plumps right down on his backside. Nonetheless, he pulls himself up again to walk around, ready for the next moment in time when I try to get him to take another step. And, as parents we know that he is not going to need that support forever. He will start walking, first one step, then another, and another, and on and on. And once that happens he will fall less and less. He still will occasionally fall, but the idea is that the older, wiser, and more mature he gets, it will be less and less.
The same is true for us spiritually. When we first came to Christ we fell back into our old ways of living over and over again. Just when we thought we took a great step of faith, we inevitably fell. But, like my son, we should be doing less and less the more that we grow in our walk with Jesus Christ. We know that we sin and we will sin, although it should be less and less as the years pass. But, what do we do when we sin? We confess them to the Lord in the spirit of godly sorrow, asking God to forgive us because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. If we fall into sin, we don’t stay in it, wallowing in it, rather we confess to Christ, ask Him to forgive us and stand up to walk in the resurrection life that has been appropriated to us through our faith in the risen Savior.
Don’t stay in your sin, beloved. If you have sinned, confess it and cry out for God to forgive you. And once you do, take joy in the promise that He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”—1 John 1:9. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment