Confession brings reconciliation

Yesterday afternoon I got involved in a serious discussion of sin and forgiveness... starting with a discussion of Holiness doctrine and fasting. The conversation was long, intense - and probably not over yet! So I was particularly struck with the newsletter from my home church (in Eastford, Connecticut) this afternoon.

I hope one of my daughters will translate this bit for me into Japanese!

2. Confess sin. Confession brings reconciliation. Stop and read that again. Confession brings reconciliation. Ask yourself why God wants confession of sin. He desires confession because he desires intimacy. Sin violates intimacy with our loving God. So out of love God says, let’s bring it out of the dark and into the light and get honest about it. We are not to deny it but confess it. You might say, “But I’ve had to confess this so many times before.” OK – then confess it again, and again and again and again if you must, but never give up on working towards deeper intimacy with the Lord. If the junk keeps working itself back into the closets of your life, then just keep throwing it out again. Just don’t ever take the attitude that you are satisfied with it accumulating more and more! God promises that as many times as you confess, He is prepared to forgive and purify.

Confession brings reconciliation. That deserves caps: CONFESSION BRINGS RECONCILIATION.

The part my young friends don’t seem to understand is that God “desires confession because he desires intimacy.” ... Somehow I think this is really going to tax my Japanese fluency level!