All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)
A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD BOY, raised in an abusive family, reached out and stabbed a boy he did not know on the playground. The aggressor stabbed the boy several times, and he died. This was a cry for help from the twelve year old, but he committed the murder and has to live with the consequence of time in prison. By our human standards, this is a “big” sin.
Romans 3:23 tells us all have sinned, so we may think, “I didn’t do anything like murder!” Yet the sins of the heart, the ones no one sees, can be the most serious of all. Pride, impure thoughts, unrestrained anger, and lying are just a few of the hidden sins we could list. Sins of omission (the times when we fail to do something that we should have done), as well as the sins of commission (wrong acts) are also sins that we need to confess to God and ask forgiveness for. Proverbs 20:9 says, “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?” No one can say they are without sin.
We must acknowledge our sins and confess them to our loving heavenly Father. God wants us to be redeemed, to have the glory humans had before the fall and we as believers can have through Christ.
Confess your sins to God and receive His pardon.
Karen Doolaard lives in Michigan with her husband, John, where they attend Central Wesleyan Church. She is involved in the Prayer Shawl Ministry.
© 2016 Wesleyan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
