It’s a new week of work or school for many of us. Or maybe we’re on vacation or doing something else. Whatever the case, as we reflect on our lives, we realize that things aren’t the way they should be.
Anyone who’s honest about life has to ask, “What do I do about my sin?” When we reflect on our life, we realize we have not lived as we should; we have not lived as God wants us to. We are sinners. Now what?
Cain killed. Few of us have literally followed his example. But the Bible speaks some very unsettling words. The apostle John writes, “Anyone who hates a fellow believer is a murderer, and you know that no murderers have eternal life in them” (1 John 3:15).
All of us have had moments when we wanted the worst for someone who hurt us. Hatred affects us all. In the course of time we are all guilty of not loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves (see Mark 12:29-31). In the course of time we all sin.
But thanks be to God! While we have no answer to sin, God does. His final answer to sin is John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Dear God, in the course of time I have sinned against you and other people. I seek salvation in your one and only Son, my Savior, Jesus. Amen.
About the author — Jack Gray
Jack Gray recently retired after forty years as a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. During that time he served seven churches from coast to coast in the United States. He and his wife, Wanda, have four sons and three grandchildren. They also have ministered to 44 foster children. This month’s devotions are inspired by his reflections on time at this transition in his life.
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