Standing in line, wringing hands, I see myself counting. I am counting fingers, counting people ahead of me, even counting stars. Should I keep my numbers down by lumping things into categories or let it all out and give every reason, every excuse for my sins.
I was once prompted by someone into thinking about what would be my response at the gates of Heaven. Would I account for or make excuses for my sins? How would I explain myself? They asked me why and told me I would not make it very far. Like daggers, sharp words of condemnation were flung at me until my knees hit the floor in defeat. My walk with the Lord became shallow, and I became a shadow of the person that I wanted to be.
After years of living in guilt, the Lord convicted me through guidance from my pastor. He didn’t ask for a confession but asked me if I confessed to God. I had and that’s all that I needed to do. Confess, trust, changed life, move on.
1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I had a new mantra at that point which led me to Romans.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 8:1 ESV
I have no excuses or reasons or any other word you may insert here. I don’t need to summarize, count on fingers or stars, and I don’t need to wring my hands in worried anticipation. If I am ever asked, I will simply state that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We are without excuse.
How do we get past excuses to life? My thoughts are to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk. Live like we have been set free. Live to glorify the Lord, without excuse.
Amen! This is such a convicting piece! I believe all of us need this reminder. All we need to do is confess and live in a constant state of gratefulness for the grace we have been given! I have also been stuck in a state of shame or guilt! Thank you for reminding me of Romans 8:1! I will memorize this verse! <3
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I feel so convicted in that even though we may feel lonely in our walk, we aren’t alone.
So glad I’ve had the opportunity to get inside you a bit. Excuses are to let go and let Jesus carry them for us. That frees us up to love people better. Seems we have gone through the same school of thought.
Rhonda #fmf
Thank you for stopping by.
Love this post. Very human emotions. Throwing the excuses out and letting Jesus carry them, frees us up to love better. Seems as if you went through the same school of thought as I’ve gone through.
Rhonda
Hi Mary Ann: I hopped over here from the FB group. So glad you experienced this freedom. I think a lot of people have been scared by this idea that we’re going to have to explain) excuse every sin when we meet Jesus. Thankfully he has already taken care of our sins. We can follow him knowing he is full of grace and truth.
Jeannie (#44 in linkup)
Sweet! Love the story of application. Yea, no condemnation in Christ! Glory be to His name.
Realizing how far we miss the mark shows us our great need for Jesus, doesn’t it? I sensed the journey you took us on, and loved the conclusion. Live to glorify the Lord.
Hi Mary-Ann,
I find it interesting that confessing your sins to God is okay. I don’t know why but I think I’ve had it in my head that you confess them to someone like a friend and they pray with you. And I think too that telling God doesn’t always feel like enough. I feel sometimes like he’s still upset with me or something. Or maybe I am with me. Thanks for sharing this.
Visiting from fmf. 🙂