As followers of Christ, we are His ambassadors in a world that ultimately belongs to Him. Yet, how often do we stay silent about our faith out of fear of offending others? Imagine a doctor who, out of a desire to avoid upsetting his patient, withholds a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. This isn’t love; it’s negligence. In the same way, our silence about the hope and truth we have in Christ is not kindness but a form of theft, robbing the world of the message that could bring them life.
Confession and repentance are the most demanding aspects of the Christian life, where we stand fully exposed before the holiness of God, much like Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when he is painfully freed from his dragon scales by Aslan. This image captures something of our own journey: we too need God’s help to strip away our sins, layer by painful layer, as His grace works to free us. Repentance is like a skilled surgeon’s scalpel, cutting deep. It’s painful, yet it is the necessary path to our healing.
In these moments, the most meaningful thing we can do is echo David’s prayer:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24
We invite God to reveal the shadows within, the quiet sins that lurk in our hearts. And as we ask Him to show us these hidden faults, we also seek His strength to turn away from them, to be restored, and to walk again in His light.
Each week, we pass through valleys of sin and struggle—moments when our faith falters, our convictions weaken, and our love cools. Confession then acts as a divine X-ray, letting the light of God’s Word expose the hidden darkness within our souls. These sins—like toxins in our bloodstream—quietly drain us of joy, peace, and passion for the things of God. This is why we must confront and release them.
Let’s consider one commandment that often escapes close examination: “You shall not steal.” At first, this commandment might seem simple, something most of us feel confident we haven’t broken. We might imagine theft as the domain of masked burglars, opportunistic looters, or shadowy figures in the night. But in God’s eyes, theft has a broader meaning. It is not limited to material goods or bold acts of wrongdoing. It is a condition of the heart, a pattern that quietly seeps into even our closest relationships, our promises, and our connection to God Himself.
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