Out of Sight, Out of Mind

I felt bad that today in worship I was partially responsible for distracting some parishioners during worship. I must admit that I was totally unaware of the problem that was there. During or after the message, I was totally unaware that a wasp had landed on my robe and was quite close to the arms of the robe. I was told that at times it would get lost in the folds of the robe. It wasn’t bothering me because I didn’t know about it. If it had bothered me, it could have been quite disruptive to worship. I was thankful that one of the ushers came up, when it was appropriate in the service, and swiped it off of me. I was clueless to the danger that might have been there. I was never allergic to bee stings, but I find that as I age, things change and so I don’t like to gamble on the outcome. That wasp caused two issues. It distracted some worshipers and it might have put me in a little danger. Sin has a way of doing the same thing. For many people, even believers, we can carry with us sin that is threatening to destroy us. All sin, great or small, condemns us without Christ. Our blindness to the sin not only is a danger to our souls but can cause others to fall. Addictions can distract families and communities from the real solution... Jesus Christ. Our spiritual blindness can also cause others to take their eyes off of Christ. Why? Because they are influenced or tempted by my sin and that distraction has a way of compromising our faith. That is why it is so important when we go before the Lord to confess our sins, to confess not only the sins that we are aware of, but also for the sins that we are unaware of. It is not a matter of trying to argue how God would judges us for sins we are not aware of. All sin condemns us therefore should be confessed to God. In our confession, we need to truly understand that we are lost condemned sinners and that Jesus is our only hope. That can’t be just words. It has to come from the heart. The flip side of that is that having repented and confessed that sin, we are not to dwell on it anymore nor does it have the power to destroy us. Just as we must be aware of the dangers of sin, we must all the more live our lives in the sure hope our risen Savior brings. Your sins have been removed. Father, Even though we sin often, Your forgiveness is greater still. Help us to walk in the knowledge of our Your promises. Amen