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They tell me confession is good for the soul. It seems like a pretty nice adage. In fact, I can remember many times when I had been guilty of something and...when the time of confession came...sure enough, it felt great to let the truth be heard.
Of course, when the Bible speaks of confession, it has two distinct approaches. The word "confession", as it appears in the Old Testament, is a clear statement of sin guilt. The people would confess their sins and God would be faithful to forgive them. In the New Testament, the word "confession" is almost exclusively used as a means of declaring the Lordship of Christ. A person would confess Jesus as Lord or confess the gospel of Christ.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but...those sound like complete opposites.
When I think of confession, I almost always think of the "sin" confession. Maybe it is the dominance of the Catholic faith in the U.S., but, in my eyes, I must confess all the wrong in my life. How cool is it to learn that, with Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, my confession no longer is about my sin, but about His victory over that sin.
So, without further ado...my confession:
- There are times when I wish I were not a pastor, but Jesus reminds me that He is the shepherd and not me.
- I have sinned more as a Christian than before I was a Christian, but His blood covered ALL of the sin, so I am white as snow.
- When people talk about the end of the world, I roll my eyes, but when Christ does come back, He will be returning for me anyways.
- I am often a horrible father and husband, but Jesus has blessed me with the most wonderful family that they keep me in line.
- I have failed in ministry more times than I can keep count, but He continues to call me onward.
- I find there are times that I do not like people, but Jesus reminds me that I am loved, so I must love others.
- Jealousy consumes me when I look at other churches and their pastors, but Jesus offers swift reprimand and then gives me a hug.
- I cry a lot more than you might imagine, but Jesus keeps my tears in a bottle.
- When I stand before Jesus, I will have very little to show from my life that isn't shameful, but He will look at me and say, "Well done", not because I am great, but because I am weak and I let Him be strong.
There you go. Confession is good for the soul. After reading this, I am reminded that it is all Him and none of me. He is Lord.
It's a good thing, too.
