Confession

“The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.”  —Mark 1:5

Remember the Dry Idea antiperspirant commercials? In the mid 1980s and 90s, the Gillette Company launched an ad campaign with the slogan, “Never let them see you sweat.” The commercials used experts in different fields listing three things you must never do in their business. They always ended with, “And … never let them see you sweat.”

We might rewrite a Dry Idea commercial today using American figures caught in sin (sports stars, coaches, politicians, and any of us really) by saying, “Never share your insecurities publically, never admit you were wrong, and no matter how much evidence piles up against you, never let them see you sweat.” It appears most defense strategies today include deny, deny, and deny some more.

If we really seek to experience joy and true happiness, not just during the Christmas season but lifelong, we will find it through confession and forgiveness. Hiding sins and failures only adds burden and stress to our lives. I am not saying we should publicly confess every hidden weakness. No one desires to hear about every skeleton in our closet, but living a lie is never easy.

God prepared the world for the ministry of Jesus Christ by calling persons to repentance. Instead of never letting people see you sweat, John the Baptist challenged people to admit they were sinners. He called people to confess their sins and then humble themselves to a ritual bath in the Jordan River called baptism. John called people to be authentic and vulnerable instead of being dishonest and self-sufficient.

One of the unique strengths of the Christian faith is forgiveness. In the early days of Tiger Woods’ struggles, I remember hearing a golf commentator saying Tiger should embrace the Christian faith, confess his sin, find forgiveness, and start over. Marghanita Laski, a noted humanist, made an amazing confession as she debated a Christian on national television, Laski said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness.” She then added rather patheti­cally, “I have no one to forgive me.”

Forgiveness does not result from human effort. Forgiveness is not a mathematical equation or scientific formula. The uniqueness of the Christian faith is forgiveness because God sent His Son to be sin for us that we might become sons and daughters of God. We do not receive forgiveness because we follow a three step plan but because we have a Savior who died for us. Because of Jesus Christ, we can confess our sins in confidence that we will receive forgiveness and our sins will be washed away.

Are you prepared for Christmas? Usually when someone asks that question, they expect to get an answer about decorations, shopping, or musical productions. In asking are you prepared for Christmas, I mean are you ready to receive God’s gift of salvation, Jesus Christ? Are you ready and willing to receive the forgiveness and new life only Jesus can bring?  Confess your sins. Turn to Jesus Christ and find the true joy of life. Happy Christmas preparations.