There’s an old saying, “…your sins will catch up with you.” Undoubtedly accurate. Sometimes it feels as if we’re living on tenderhooks of unrepented sins. Rather silly, isn’t it? When we sinned, the Lord was with us (remember His words that He would never leave us… that included when we did/said what we shouldn’t) – it really isn’t new information for Him. So why hang on to those sins? Why wait until they grow, which they always do, into gargantuan proportions? Why be consumed with fear and guilt?
It is always, always simpler to recognize, because most of us are aware we sin when we sin, and to accept our responsibility and turn to the Lord. He gave us what our actions need to be [confess, repent – turn from] so that He can in turn cleanse us and restore our righteousness (1John 1:9-2:1). Do we? Sometimes yes, sometimes we drag our feet like little children caught in doing something our parents said we shouldn’t. Sometimes we let the sin fester and because it is unrepented sin, we place this as a block in our relationship.
Hopefully, we all eventually come to our senses. Where are we when we aren’t with the Lord? Out in the cold! Knowing that the lump in our hearts and minds is what’s keeping us from being whole. Those of us who do recognize this do turn to the Lord to seek His forgiveness. Because let’s face it – it is He who has been let down by us… it is He who we have betrayed. Remember His words is John 16 when Jesus was attempting to prepare His disciples for what was going to happen.
We are given so much. We are equipped, prepared and ready to become all that the Lord has for us. When we are ‘caught’ out in not living up to this status, many of us either become embarrassed or fearful that we’ve now done the unthinkable. Both states are lies, coming from the father of lies. Why believe? Is this truly an obstacle that we will use to widen the gap in our relationship? We have a way to be redeemed and made righteous. All we need do is repent. The bottom line truly is… we have always been ‘caught’. The decision is – who do we want to be caught by? Our choice.
