November 13, 2018

Ridge Reading Challenge Devotional 1 John 1:7-2:2

I hated disappointing my mom. She was a single mom raising three kids. She had had enough disappointment already and it made me feel terrible when I knew I hurt her.  

My brother and I used to play basketball in the house with anything we could get our hands on. One day we spotted our moms fancy fruit basket. “Back in the day,” the decorative fruit used in these fancy baskets was made out of paraffin, a wax that could be colored and poured into a mold. The result was actually very realistic looking fruit.

Guess what my brother and I did with the apple? I was trying a bank shot off the wall with it and that beautiful paraffin apple split right down the middle. Of course, I did what any 6-year-old would do. I immediately told my mom what happened! Yeah…no! I put the two halves back together and set it back in the basket (as if nothing had ever happened)! When Mom finally discovered her broken apple, she set the three of us siblings down and asked us what happened. No one confessed to knowing anything about how it got broken. The next few hours we were a bit tense. We were out of sorts with Mom. Mom knew one of us knew the truth. (Moms always know!)

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I put on my best little crying face and I confessed to Mom that I broke the apple. She told me she was disappointed in me, but not for breaking the apple. After all, boys will be boys. She was disappointed because I lied to her. Ouch! My fake crying turned into real tears. I disappointed my mom. That hurt.  

1 John 1:7-2:2 tells a similar story about how my sin hurts God and causes me to be “out of sorts” with Him. My sin hurts my fellowship with Him. John says for us to enjoy the fullness of His fellowship, communion with Him, we need to walk in His light, confess our sin, and rely on the sacrifice of Jesus for His forgiveness.    

Walking in the light of God means living consistently with His truth and His character. It means living out the truth of God and not lying about a broken wax apple. I have to confess, I don’t do this very well most of the time, and my communion with God suffers because of it. When I do get it right, I can almost feel the glow of His fellowship. It is a wonderful place to be.

I also experience that feeling when I know I have done wrong and confess my sin to Him and those I have hurt. When I confess my sin, I reestablish the broken fellowship caused by my sin, and I know my perfect fellowship with Him is restored because of His righteousness and His sacrifice for my sin. WOW!

I was sorry I hurt my mom…that I disappointed her. I was so thankful she wrapped her arms around me and forgave me, just like God wraps His arms around me and forgives me when I confess my sin and live in His light.     

What area of your life do you need to submit to His truth and character? Confess to Him, and others, and ask for forgiveness. A lifelong repeating of these steps will keep you in close fellowship with Him.