Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday April 19, 2007

Have you ever failed? Before you answer you must understand that there are more definitions of failure than Carter's little pills. And most so called failures are not that at all, but true failure is merely a learning experience from which you are supposed to emerge smarter.

One supposed definition of failure posits that "Failure is to not accomplish what you set out to do. Not to reach the goal. Hillary failed in his initial effort to climb Mt. Everest." We all know that he eventually succeeded in his quest. Did the failure in first attempt mean that he himself was a failure? Of course not. He was simply a person who tried to do something and did not succeed. He himself was still Edmond Hillary. Our church sign recently proclaimed:

"Failure is an EVENT not a person."

Religious people have a lot of trouble with the concept of failure and this is due to heretical teaching concerning perfection in this life. We want so much to believe that we must be perfect that we deep inside ignore the biblical provision for less than perfection. When our goal is to live the life perfect the principle stated on our sign is obscured and we harbor feelings of guilt, notice I said "feelings of guilt" due to perceived imperfections. God does not work in the area of "Feelings of guilt" brought on by imperfection. God deals with sin, sins of commission, omission and outright willful sins.

I have found in my life that when I get into the "I'm a failure mode" I have a tough time getting up and being the person Jesus declares He has made me, a new creature. When I join the prodigal son's confession that I have sinned, Christ then deals with me as a repentant child, restoring me to original function and beauty. I love the word in Psalm 23, restoreth.

I try to help the folks I work with in the things of Christ who fall into the "feelings" of guilt trap, by encouraging them to go to Christ in confession, and agreement, accepting the cleansing power of His blood to take away, to blot out the transgression and get on with life, sans the sense of failure. There is an enormous difference between failing, and being a failure. Failure is an event, not a person, and this truth includes you and me. I am glad that God's ocean of forgiveness is very large for I have probably filled one the size of the Pacific with my own sins. But thank the Lord the Sea of Forgetfulness is metaphor and there are no bounds to the scope of God's forgetting sin when it is placed by faith under the blood of Christ. According to the scripture, my sins ARE gone. Therefore I by faith apply this truth and go on with joy in my heart, looking toward the City Celestial, rather than looking back to a sin.

God does not intend for His children to spend a lifetime looking back to a failed marriage, a sordid affair, a loss of temper or, you put a name on it, but a rejoicing in His provision that HAS removed this sin. 1John 1:9 is still in the book and it still works.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I often put ALL in caps to emphasize just that, ALL means ALL. Including your sin, but more precious to me, ALL of MINE!! PTL

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit

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