Confession

As I sit in church I’ve always had this thought, and now in light of my reading the Spiritual Exercises I feel it almost unavoidable. One thing I’ve noticed in my church, while I still love it, is that they don’t really give you much time for confession. The Catholic Church has always been criticized for focusing too much on our sins, and I think the Protestant church may be guilty of not focusing enough. While it is wrong to say that in God’s eyes we are worthless and are not able to receive His love because of it, it is equally wrong, and perhaps more so, to say that we deserve His gift of salvation. Looking back on my life I can see that I stopped deserving God’s love rather early, hey, didn’t we all. There’s no one on earth who is perfect, not even Mother Theresa for all she did deserves Heaven. At one time or another she acted in a way that is not compatible with God’s perfection and glory. If even Mother Theresa isn’t deserving, how much so am I. That is where grace comes in, and that is where true appreciation of God’s love also comes in. It’s not that I took Jesus’ sacrifice for granted, but I guess I just forgot how imperfect and undeserving of it I am. You can say all you want about this post, how I’m focusing too much on guilt, how we’re redeemed, and you’re right, when we accept Jesus and His gift of life we are redeemed before God. Yet, the only thing that can really stop a man from getting help is when he refuses to acknowledge a need for it. So what am I saying, that instead of 60 seconds confessions should be 90? No, that’s to specific, but if it weren’t such a rush, if it were more of the focus of our worship then that would be better. Not to mean that all church should be is praying for forgiveness, but true worship of God, where similes include adoration, reverence, love, and devotion, demands that we truly focus on His perfection and our imperfection, and His love for us despite the contrast. Then and only then can we truly appreciate and understand what God did for us so that we may enjoy a life with Him, and more importantly for Him.