Confession: like a car wash just keep going ahead.

I love this book. It’s a simple book actually very simple. I love this book for many reasons but one of the biggest is I grabbed it running through Heathrow early in the morning coming back from Uganda. Sometimes simple things have so much meaning. It’s also my prayer book. I tore out some pages awhile back. Those pages were confession pages. In our culture of churches, we don’t use confession. Perhaps because we are afraid of what it had become but I think more because of what it might become. For an addict, confession is the first step to recovery. For the Christian, confession is commanded. It’s one of those commands we put on the warming burner in back of the stove. If I confess, if someone else hears my confession, they may think less of me. If someone knows what I am struggling with, it’s a reflection on me. That’s what I somehow believed growing up. Whether taught by commission or omission, our churches did not confess. “Fess up” was a common thing said when I was a kid. In other words admit you screwed up. Usually punishment followed. We bring that into church. Punishment follows confession. That’s not Bible. The Bible seems to indicate that confession makes one stronger, more like Christ and frees from the power of what caused you to sin. Admit it, pray for each other and walk on. ” Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

Psalm 32:5 So why did I throw out my confession pages? So I don’t go back and be reminded. I do that well. Confession is a drive through car wash. There are many signs in a car wash that tell you not to back up. Go straight ahead. Confession reminds me to keep walking ahead. Don’t look back at the dirt on the floor in the car wash, look forward to the clean car as you drive ahead… it’s good to confess, it’s good to write it down and then it’s good to drive ahead and be reminded of the clean heart of forgiveness!