It is a mark of Christian maturity that when you fall (and oh how we will fall!), you run TO God, not FROM God. This conveys an understanding that God, out of His great love for us, does not give up on His own. While he is perfecting us (Hebrews 12:1-2), honesty of heart tells us and Him that we are not perfect yet. There is further to be run. So when Christ calls us to confess our sin to one another, it's not to simply to show how great our need is, but also to show how great of a savior He is!
Honesty of heart that manifests itself in confession of sin builds community in so many ways. Here are just a few:
- Confession allows others to see that we are professing to be sinners saved by grace.
- Confession reminds our community that they are not alone in their personal struggles with sin.
- Confession helps us to see believers further along than us that we may learn from who have similarly struggled.
- Confession offers us the opportunity to encourage and pray for those who are struggling.
I've been thinking a good deal about this lately, as I see individuals trying to act independently of one another, yet still claim to be in the same group. The body of Christ removes the need for competition and instead brings about freedom to encourage and build-up one another when they find unity in confession and forgiveness. The outside world will only see us as the body of Christ, when we act in unity.
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