No one likes being wrong. In fact, as toddlers (and for some, their whole life) we spend a great deal of our time defending why it is that our point of view is right! It is hard to admit we are wrong. If we were to spend more time every day saying, “I’m sorry” instead of fighting a meaningless argument, our lives would go so much smoother and we would be so much happier!
I thought of this today as I realized there were quite a few times where I was in the wrong with my actions and needed to apologize. As I think of my day, more and more incidents pop up. To start with, this morning I was late to work. I raced out to my car (which my father had driven the night before) and freaked out when I reached into my purse and didn’t find my keys where they normally are. Immediately I opened the door and called to my dad asking where my keys were in such a voice that obviously blamed him for their loss. He claimed he didn’t have them, to which I protested that he must have, when my mom gently suggested that I take the other car. Once I was finally in the other car, I reached into my purse just to discover that my keys were indeed there. I had bumped them out of their pocket as I ran out of the house throwing my purse's contents all over.
Then, later as I was at work, my sister (who also works there) waved me over from across the room. I was insanely busy at the moment and figured she must have had a problem if she had called me over. So I dropped everything I was doing and ran over to see what the issue was just to discover that she wanted to tell me something about my pen. You can imagine my frustration at the moment. Sadly, that doesn’t justify the sharp “Whatever, I don’t care!” that I gave not-so-quietly and then walked off quickly to continue working. (What a lovely way to show my Christianity to the nearby custormers!)
So, yeah, I had some pretty big “I’m sorry” moments today. There weren’t just three people to apologize to, though. I needed to apologize to God also. That brings us to our verse for the day:
I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(At this point, do I even need to tell you to sticky note it?)
Isn’t that a great promise? If we confess our sins, God promises to forgive us! And He promises to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What a blessing! Such a blessing should be made use of daily, plus every time we sin. Think of it this way: let’s pretend you live on a farm and it has just finished raining. You have to go outside to feed the animals, and when you come back in, you have a streak of mud on your arm, leg, and face. The first thing you do is wipe all of the mud off with a cloth. Great! You’re all clean again! But let’s say that you have a baby sister. This morning while you were feeding her some smashed peas, the phone rang. So you ran over to answer the phone and when you came back, she had dumped the peas all over her highchair and was totally covered in green goop. With a sigh, you clean her up. What you don’t realize is that when you picked her up from the chair, she pressed her hand to the back of your neck spreading the goop. You only discover this later that night when you take a shower.
What would have happened if you hadn’t showered? That gunk would have started smelling worse and worse as the days went by (not to mention natural BO!). After a week, you would have smelled pretty rotten! (Pun intended.) So we need to not only wipe the mud off as we get it on us, but we need to shower daily to assure our cleanliness! In other words, we need to not only ask for forgiveness every time we sin, but we also need to make a point of asking God to forgive the sins that we have not seen or remembered for the day. That way we can be positive we smell great!
Your Challenge: Make a point of going back and saying, “I’m sorry” to those you cross today. And be positive you ask God for forgiveness too!
Bonus! Don’t stop reading your Bible and praying!
Hope you had a great day, and God bless!
-Aly :)
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A Christian's 30 Day Challenge To Deeper Living
SpiritualitéThis is your challenge: grow spiritually, do things you didn't know you could, and delve into a deeper relationship with your Creator. There is no room for wimps. Be commited. Start now.
