Everybody's Human

As my friends know, I am far from perfect.  I stumble.  I fall.  And I disappoint God.  And when I do, I ‘m reminded of the consequences, because God’s Spirit reminds me: “Ritchie, you’re doing it again.  Stop!  Stop before you really do damage to your relationship with God.”

Everyone – no matter how spiritually mature he or she is, no matter how firm his or her commitment to God’s ways – stumbles and makes mistakes and disappoint God.

The greatest men in the Bible were human – they made mistakes like we do.  My favorite example is David.  He was so close to God that God said; “I have found David … a man after my own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22).

David was special in God’s eyes, so you might get the idea that that he was perfect.  But he wasn’t.  You know the story.  David committed murder to cover up the sin.  He wasn’t perfect.  He was human like the rest of us.

Peter was one of the disciples who was close to Jesus.  But he denied Christ three times.

Thomas the disciple was so dedicated to Christ that one time when Jesus said, “I’m going to Jerusalem to die,” Thomas said, “I’ll go with you, Lord” (John 11:11-16).

But, after Christ’s resurrection, Thomas said, “I’m not going to believe Jesus came back from the dead till I can put my fingers into the nail holes” (John 20:25).

These are prime examples to think about.

All of us, regardless of the face we wear to services, regardless of how we stick our chest out and say: “I’m a pretty good Christian” – we all stumble at times.  We all disappoint God.

What are the results of stumbling and falling out of line with God?  Read for yourself how David, Peter and Thomas reacted in II Samuel 12:13-16, Luke 22:61-62 and John 20:24-28.  Think how they must have felt.

Remorse, regret, guilt and alienation – that’s happens in your life when you turn your back on God.  I guarantee that if you knowingly reject God’s way and go your own way, immediately He’ll seem a million miles away.

I’d venture to say you’ll have a hard time praying.  You might even feel that you can’t pray.  I know I can’t pretend that everything is fine when I know I’ve let God down.

And then there’s guilt.  Some people live a lifetime crippled by the weight of guilt.  I know from personal experience that you can reach a stage in your life that you think so little of yourself that you don’t care what happens.

What a difference between that attitude and the excitement God puts in your life when you follow and obey Him.  You know He’s got great things in store for you in His family.

How can we regain that close relationship with God?

It is fortunate that God’s word tells us how.  God know our weaknesses, so He has a perfect plan for helping us deal with mistake and restore our relationship with Him.

Though we hate to admit it, we all play destructive games – even with our Creator. These are sad, desperate attempts to cover up mistakes and sins in our lives.

One “game” is rationalization.  One way people rationalize is to say “Well, God, the reason I did that is because everybody’s doing it.  And since that’s the case, I’m sure you don’t mind too much.”

Sound familiar?  Don’t play that game with God.  When you commit a sin, be man enough or woman enough to say; “Alright, I admit it.  That was a big mistake.  It’s black and white.”  That’s the beginning of the real way out.

Another game people play involves a flippant attitude about God’s laws and love.  People say, “Oops!  I blew it but God understands.  He will let it go by.  He’s an all loving god, isn’t He?”

Oh yes, God is loving.  And God understands.  But God wants us to learn repentance and overcome our mistakes.

The Bible says, “Be holy, for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16).  Remember Revelation 2:26, “And he that overcomes and keeps my word until the end, to him will I give power over the nations.”

So, don’t rationalize.  Don’t be flippant with God’s mercy and love.  And, don’t crucify yourself with guilt.  Christ died for us our sins and we can’t add anything to His perfect sacrifice.

Here’s what to do instead:

Confess our sins to God in prayer.  There’s a great promise in God’s word, read I John 1:9.

Admit that we are wrong.  We chose that course of action.  No one forced us to sin.  We’re not victims of circumstance.  So admit that we chose the mistake or sin we’re confessing.

Sometimes, it’s hard to do.  I say; “Yes, God, I agree that it was sin but it sneaked up on me.  I never really chose that.”  Then I have to stop myself and say, “Admit it, Ritchie, you chose that path.”

That kind of admission exposes the darkness to light.  God’s word says we should walk in light (I John 1:5-7).  This means being honest with God.

Apologize.  Be willing to say, “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”  That’s easy enough, isn’t it?  We don’t have to do penance.  We don’t have to pay money.  We don’t have to hit our head against the wall to prove how sorry we are.  God will forgive us if we ask Him.

Finally, plan to forsake that particular sin forever.  Get rid of it.  Plan not to be a part of that sin again.

What are the results of dealing with sin this way?  Beautiful peace of mind, relief, a clean feeling that can’t be duplicated or matched.

God forgives and forgets, read Psalm 103:12.

Paul says that after we confessed our sins and God has forgiven us, we should put the past behind us and run full speed toward what God has for us in the future, read Philippians 3:13-14.

My prayer is that we all will press on toward our final goal.  Leave your mistakes behind and press on.