In a recent visit to a home of some friends, we entered into a scenario where their two-year-old son was not in a good mood, and was quite clingy to his dad. We discovered that he had just completed a “time-out” imposed by his dad. And so we asked the little boy why he was placed on time-out. His response, “Because papa is angry.” We asked a follow up question, “Why was your papa angry?” He simply stated, “I was on time-out.” That did not answer our question, so we pressed him about it. After a long hesitation, he finally admitted, “Because I hit papa on the face.”
Reflecting on that interchange later that night, Grace and I realized that what we had observed was typical human behavior when confronted with wrongdoing and sin. The little boy was deflecting our questions about his action that deserved disciplinary action. He was avoiding the idea that he had actually done something wrong. Instead, he was focusing on his dad’s anger, rather than on his misbehavior.
The Lord knows the human tactics so well, and confronts us with the truth. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1.8, 10 NIV). It is foolishness to attempt to hide our sin from the Lord. We can simply talk about the Lord’s holy anger, or we can try to point out another person’s faults and even place blame on them for our own disobedience. But the Lord will not be deceived; he knows our every action—even actions done in secret—and he knows our inner attitudes and intentions. In the end, “you may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32.23 NIV).
But with the Lord, sin does not have to have the last word. There is forgiveness, but we must fess up to our sin. We must learn to name our sins and own up to them. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1.9 NIV). The psalmist testifies to the virtue of confession: “I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32.5 NLT).
There is no need to fear facing our sin, as long as we do so in the light of the gospel. Be assured that “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” (1 John 2.1–2 NLT).
The little boy who came out of time-out also experienced the forgiveness of his dad. For a long time that night, he was safe and secure in the loving embrace of his dad.
—Keith Y. Jainga