Sin is so much easier to see in someone else. Ironically, that is part of being a sinner. Sin in us makes us blind to the very thing that is making us blind.

The Prophet Nathan approaches King David one day and tells him a story of a rich man. The rich man had many sheep, but he takes away the only sheep that a poor man had and cooks it for his guest. David in incensed. And he overreacts by saying that that rich man deserves to die! (It was only a sheep after all) What this tells us about David is that he had a very strong sense of justice. He was the kind of man who could not stand injustice. But what this also tells us about David is that he was blind to his own sin. He saw sin in the rich man’s action. But he didn’t see the parallel between this story and his own sin with Bathsheba. (2 Sam. 12)

This is a haunting lesson. Most of us, myself included, do not see our sins very well. Others can see our sins far better. Your spouse and your church are there to remind you of them. Don’t shun them. They are there for your own good. You want the doctor to tell you the truth about your condition, and not simply tell you what you want to hear…

Of course, we must do this lovingly and restoratively. But we must also have enough humility and gall to take it when someone points it out to us. Truth be told, there are those whom I have not been able to tell them of their blindspots for fear of losing them. But there are those that I know will react well and soak it in when I tell them their flaws. And it is usually the latter that are growing in Christ.

Are others around you free to tell you your flaws, shortcomings, and sins? Are you mature enough to absorb it and stride forward? Or do you shrink back, react badly, become defensive, or worse, offend the one who is trying to correct you?

It is NOT about you. It is about Christ. Lose yourself in Christ. You were a sinner deserving death and hell. Whatever comment/insult made about you is far better than what you deserved.

Whatever sin others expose in you is only a fraction of all that goes on, isn’t it?

God knows it all, even the ones we’ve forgotten, and yet covers it with His blood.

PH