In a nutshell: To underscore how important it is to have open, honest relationships with God and your brothers and sisters in the faith, I discuss some benefits of confession and share four secrets with you that I’ve never told anyone.
There is something about sharing a secret with someone. It’s the feeling of privilege that we are being let into a part of someone’s life to which other people don’t have access. It’s the sweet release that comes with knowing that you’ve let something off your chest, that maybe someone else understands where you’re coming from, and accepts you for who – or what – you are.
Some secrets, however, may be deeper and darker than what you’d admit to a casual acquaintance, work colleague, or even family member. These are often the secrets that shame us, the type of secrets that we are afraid will color what other people think of us, maybe make them think less of us. Often, these secrets are the type we live with, never telling anyone, in the hopes that maybe they’ll go away, or that time will somehow help us heal of the wounds caused by what we’ve done. That’s not going to happen. The only way we’ll truly be able to live with ourselves would be to let it go, and the only way, in turn, to do that is to give up that secret to God. (He knows everything you’ve done anyway.)
1 Jn 1:9 tells us “If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The verse doesn’t say, “God may forgive us,” it says, “God will forgive us,” upon confession. The verse implies we must actively seek Him out and tell Him what we’ve done; furthermore, we need to approach Him with an honest, repentant heart that seeks forgiveness. Ps 51:17 says “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Ps 32:5 tells us, “I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” Confession to God relieves us of guilt and starts us fresh. Who wouldn’t want that?
Human accountability, however, is an important element of the Christian walk. Often, we don’t share with others because we are afraid of what they might think of us. Truth be told, though, the odds are slim that one may have a secret that has never occurred to anyone else. However, it is very helpful – essential, even – to have someone who you can trust with a secret that is eating you up inside. At the end of the day, who are we to judge someone else’s hurts or twisted thoughts, anyway?
In the spirit of encouraging candidness with my readers, I’ve decided to share a few of my more, um, private thoughts with you, PostSecret-style. The anonymity afforded by PostSecret can be very liberating, I know; however, in the eyes of God, nothing can be hidden, and I believe that this kind of confession can also help a person (me) come to terms with issues that God is working out with me on a daily basis. I encourage you to think of your own secrets and confess/share them with God in your quiet time. I believe He’ll reveal something amazing to you.
