Lent 2018 Devotional: Day Two

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   —1 John 1:8–9

Sometimes, Christians can view sin as something existing outside themselves. Perhaps this is because, for a long time in our culture, sin was understood as solely a personal issue, requiring only individual forgiveness and repentance. Such an understanding makes it extremely difficult to address the systemic nature of sins like racism, poverty, homophobia, cynicism, etc. Also, for some of us, the term “sin” has been used as a cudgel. Those with power over us have used sin to make us feel shame about our bodies, our desires, our very being. When we carry such histories, it is easy to impersonalize sin, see it as a nebulous specter outside of us, but not in us. Also, our understanding of sin has been limited to things we have done wrong. Little space is given to the healing Christ provides to those who have been sinned against.

The problem with this view is that, if we do not face the separation from God that exists within us, we cannot be healed and reconciled with God and others. We are left in a state of painful alienation. We imagine that we can correct all the world’s sins on our own. We can even see it as our duty. To admit one’s own separation and confess our need for reconciliation with God can be seen as weakness, an inability to take responsibility for our own actions. After all, are we not the change makers, the justice bringers?

But to acknowledge the universality of sin is to recognize a great equalizer. We need not feel shame that we have become separated from the One who loves us and seeks most to embrace us, or bitterness against those who have caused that separation. We can all come before God and seek healing for this painful divide, and be renewed in love.

How do you understand “sin”? If you were to envision forgiveness of sin as a cleansing arising from God through Christ, would this change your understanding?