DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Anti-Hero
by Elaine Pierce
I have the strong tendency to justify my actions. When I am called out for a mistake, I often look for an excuse. How was I supposed to know you felt that way? Certainly it wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to hurt you. After all, I'm just human. Don't be so sensitive. You shouldn't assume that I had ill intent...and on it goes.
I'm guessing we've all been there. In Psalm 51, David is pouring out his heart to God after Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. David's sins included arrogance, adultery, deception and murder. He didn't come to God with excuses. He knew he was guilty:
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me...Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight...Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
In spite of these "major" sins, David approaches God and asks for forgiveness:
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
God takes sin seriously. He isn't fooled by our excuses. He knows our hearts, and he is waiting for us to stop justifying our behavior and face our sin and our guilt. And, thanks be to God, he sent us his son, his only son, who paid the ultimate price for our sins! Through Jesus we have forgiveness and eternal life.
PRAYER
Lord, so often I want to be excused rather than forgiven. I don't want to face my guilt and my sin. You have given me your holy spirit, and you long to cleanse my sin and give me new life. Help me each day to begin anew, and to seek you with all my heart, my soul, and my mind. Amen.
Comentários