Have we lost sight of the reality of sin in our lives?

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

Here is a question:  Have we lost sight of the reality of sin in our lives?

Consider this:

My 5-Minute Walk of Sin

On arriving at the coffee shop where I intended to write [on the topic of] sin, I pondered for a moment how many times I might have sinned during the 500-yard walk from my church. The Spirit brought to mind my interest in an attractive woman, anger at the car that pulled out in front of a cyclist, subtle pride, indifference to a beggar, unbelief that God would help me today, annoyance that my usual seat in the coffee shop was taken, disdain for a man I saw who once verbally patronized me, and pride [over] being greeted and engaged in conversation by a world-famous theologian. And those were just the sins I was immediately aware of in 5 minutes and 500 yards!

It's not easy to walk in the Spirit—perhaps I should have stayed in bed. Oh, how right John was when he said, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8, ESV).

Simon Ponsonby, The Pursuit of the Holy

How often do we stop to make such considerations?  I can read through the author's litany of sins and feel I am looking in a mirror.  But I seldom think of most of those things as "sin".  

What happens though, is that the closer we come to God, the more aware we are of our sin.  Consider Isaiah's reaction upon seeing a vision of God: " 'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty' " (Isaiah 6:5).  Or how about Peter after a miraculous catch of fish: "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!' " (Luke 5:8).

The purpose of this is NOT to beat ourselves up or to think ourselves worthless.  On the contrary - God saw that we have so much worth that He sent His Son to be punished on our behalf!  The purpose is to recognize the overwhelming Grace that has been extended to us!  This is how we preach the Gospel, the Good News, to ourselves every day.  And the more we do that, the better we can say "All Is Well With My Soul" and the more we can offer grace to others.

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours today,

Bruce

Holy God, make me more aware of my sinfulness so that I might live each day by your grace and mercy; 

thank you for the forgiveness of sins; 

thank you for Christ who died so that I might truly live.

(http://www.christianitytoday.com/moi/2011/002/march/6.6.html)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.  Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.