Kindness & Confession

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | Lent Meditations

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. -Psalm 103:8-12

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

Yesterday’s reading was about the incomparable way God loves us. That is our true identity: God’s beloved! Romans 2:4 says that God’s kindness leads us to repentance—not his anger, or our fear of his retribution, or our feelings of guilt. As we begin to understand the extent of God’s love and the depth of his kindness to us, the way we see the world begins to change. Our allegiances change. Our direction changes.

Repentance is this shift: It is a 180 degree change in direction. When I repent, I stop going my way and start going God’s way. Confession is one step in this process of repentence. It is the act in which we honestly name what we have done, and we agree with God that we are deeply wrong and in need of His mercy and grace.

Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. My sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what my lips tremble to name, what my heart can no longer bear. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I am truly sorry and I humbly repent, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
-from The Book of Common Prayer

Tags: Lent 2010