The Saddness of Sin

You and I have been friends forever, my whole adult life. We’ve had times when we didn’t get in touch for years, and then all of a sudden we were back in contact, and while we rarely agree our conversations were sweet, and frequently challenging!

Today my heart is grieved. Not just sad; broken.  You hurt someone I love. But more than that, you hurt yourself, over and over, by refusing to see your sin and by justifying in your own head all of your actions. This time, you admit that you had an error in judgment (how could you not?) but you still keep deflecting.

The thing is, your sin isn’t just about you.

It’s about the other person. Your sin hurts the person you involved in it. Yes, their participation is their fault, but it is also your fault.

It’s about the Body of Christ. We are all interconnected. When you sin, we all hurt.

It’s about the heart of God. He grieves as well. You are hurting one of the people he loves most (YOU!). He wants the best for you. You’re not cooperating. He wants healing for you, complete healing. It won’t be without scars, and it will take obedience and submission. Sacrifice. We hate those words. I hate those words. Healing doesn’t happen without them.

We all sin. It doesn’t surprise God when we sin; he is mindful that we are dust. He knows us way better than we know ourselves. So why is it such a big deal? Because when we refuse to deal with the sin in our lives we are participating in death, and we weren’t created for death. Until we deal with the sin in our lives, the big and little sin, we aren’t free to be all that God created us to be. We aren’t free to fully participate in relationship with God and with each other. God is recreating us in the image of his Son. There is no room for sin there. There is only room for right relationships.

We are all in process. None of us has arrived, and we all have blind spots. Yep, me too. You, too. I am praying for you, my friend. I hope you are praying for me. We need each other in the Body to encourage and support each other, to help with those blind spots, to confront our sin and to push us closer to God. I love you enough to extend grace, and to confront when I have to. Nobody likes confrontation. I hate it. But I love you more. And there is no joy greater than true repentance.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2

God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Luke 18:13