“Woe to us, for we have sinned!” Lamentations 5:16b
Living life in a new language in a new country is an adventure to say the least. And one full of funny, happy little mistakes as you use your new language amongst the people that speak the language “normally.” The other day I was helping to clean our small church here in Guadalajara and I wanted to say step by step (paso a paso) but instead emphatically offered my audience “piso a piso”, which means “floor by floor.” We all got a good laugh as they kindly alerted me to my Spanish faux paux. The good thing about these small moments of embarrassment is it teaches you a lesson not easily forgotten. But speaking of step by step, it brings up a familiar proverb that rings true when you are considering any journey that consist of a series of many steps…a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And that first step is oh so important to the journey.
The book of Lamentations is short at only 5 chapters yet contains a generation of agony, suffering, disappointment, and pain. It’s a sort of swan song from Jeremiah after he has spent a 40 year prophetic career warning the Israelites of God’s coming judgement. A judgement that came because of their clear choice to reject God and instead go after other gods, more specifically, their own personal and sinful satisfaction. And yet after God’s judgment reaches completion, the prophet does not put down his pen. He instead chooses to record a series of lamentations (a deep expression of grief) over the current conditions of his Israelite brothers and sisters scattered in captivity. And in the final chapter of his mournful poetic outcry, we find the long journey of their sinful rebellion whittled down to one single step. The first step that any life must reconcile with in order to be rectified with a perfectly holy and righteous God…honest admittance of your spiritual condition.
Have you ever told a little-bitty white lie? That’s called a sin and that one white lie is enough to separate you from a perfectly sinless Holy God. Have you ever taken some small trinket that didn’t belong to you? That’s identified as stealing and that little token that landed in your pocket is enough to eternally separate you from being in the presence of a Holy God that cannot and will not tolerate sin. Have you ever peered over your shoulder to help yourself to an answer that you did not know on a test? That’s called cheating. And don’t be so easy on yourself as to say it was only a one time deal, if you’ve cheated once, you’re a cheater. Have you ever glanced at a person of the opposite sex and maybe glanced a little too long, your mind drifting where it should not? God’s Word says that if a person looks at another in lust, adultery has been committed. And any of these one-time acts is enough to bar you entrance into heaven, the home of God Almighty.
You see God and sin are like oil and water. God will not ever tolerate the presence of imperfect sin in his perfect presence. So at this point you might be asking yourself, well then just who exactly will be allowed into heaven? Wouldn’t sin eliminate every person that has ever lived from heaven? Now you’re cooking with Crisco. Listen to what God’s Word say about the state of all humans before Him:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Romans 3:11-12
So, if this all-encompassing state of sin seems rather hopeless, you must only look a little farther into Jeremiah’s chapter 5 lamentation to find the solution.
“Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored” Lamentations 5:21a
You see to truly hold a personal relationship with a perfectly sinless God lies a formula, a first step. It’s simple yet at the same time oh so difficult for so many in this world today. That first step is all about raw personal honesty. Admittance about who you truly are. Before you can be rectified with God you must admit that you have sinned, will continue to sin, and cannot control or alter either. And in absolute honesty, admit that in committing sin against God you have fallen short of the glory of a perfectly holy and sinless God. You must understand that no matter your current relationship with sin, the history of one single sin in your life has earned you the title of sinner. And that title denies you entry into the eternal home of God, heaven. Yes, our sin carries a penalty that will echo throughout eternity, but praise be to God for He is a God of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. There is a way to be reunited with Him for all eternity, only one. And God made that way Himself. He sent His only Son here to this planet, out of love and sacrifice, and allowed Him to hang on a cross, die and then be resurrected back to life, defeating the separation our sin creates forever. Within this act lies the single biggest event the world has ever witnessed. The act of God making a way to reunite a sinful people with Himself.
Today if you have never rectified your broken relationship with your Creator and Lord, it is a good day for you. Simply get honest and admit that you have sinned and are therefore a sinner. Admit that one sin is enough is to separate you from God for eternity. And then confess that you have faith that the only way to see that relationship repaired is through claiming a Savior. A Savior that can alone, save you from a state that neither you nor anyone else can repair. And as you place your faith in the Savior of this world, Jesus Christ, you will yourself become a miracle. You were blind but now you see; you were lost but yet now you are found.
The first step as Jeremiah so honestly and candidly stated, is to cry out to the Lord with the fact that you have sinned against Him and His perfect way for you. And as you do cry out to Him to save you from the penalty of your sin, He will caringly reach out and save you from your sin, just as He has done for countless other sinners…including me.
May your day today be one of blessed salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ ~ Dan
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