I want to see 2 things clearly today
1. The unvarnished ugliness of my own sin.
2. The indescribable beauty of Christ’s sacrifice for it.
SUBSCRIBE
Technorati
Recent Comments
Team Members
Barry Wallace
theoparadox
pijohnsonMonergism Books
Get the new Kindle DX
LOGOS Bible
Verse:
John 3:16; Jn 3:16; John 3
Keyword:
Salvation, Jesus, Gospel
With Operators:
AND, OR, NOT, “ ”
A simple, yet elegant statement. But what worlds we could write of these. Will you share more of your thoughts along these lines?
Oftentimes I get so hung up on #1 I never make it to #2 – and without # 2 – well, I’m hopeless.
What you have in those two statements is a simple, profound prayer, one answered always and in due time with a ‘yes’.
Andy,
This post grew out of some conversations I’ve had in the last couple of days. I intentionally kept it brief, wondering if brevity would provoke some additional thought and discussion.
In one of the conversations I had, I was asked by a friend if I thought it was possible to go through a day without sinning. I replied that it was possible only if you operated under a pretty superficial definition of sin (would you agree or disagree?); my point being that we often sin in ways that are either so subtle that they’re almost undetectable (such as proud or selfish thoughts), or that we’re completely oblivious of them (such as leaving undone something that we should have done).
In a different conversation with someone else, it was apparent that the person I was talking to was aware of a sin in their life, but had no real remorse or hatred for it. I realize, of course, that at times I’m guilty of the same thing. As I was thinking about that, it occurred to me that a lack of genuine repentance on my part is generally a result of failing to see and feel the force of either one or both of the things I mentioned above. That led me to pray (and to post) those two thoughts.
To sum up, 1) I want to see my sin in all it’s ugliness, unvarnished, without any gloss coat. Then, against that dark backdrop, 2) I want to see the glory and the radiant beauty of Christ’s unfathomable death for an undeserving sinner like me.
Laurie,
It’s so easy for some of us, myself included, to lose sight of point number 2 at times, but that point is what makes the good news good (what makes it astounding, in fact). I pray that your heart, and mine, and the hearts of all who read this would be melted today by a crystal clear view of the cross!
Ron,
I’m sure this simple prayer should be my constant prayer. God help me.