Would Be Nice to Find Out

And [God] said, “ . . . . Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" Genesis 3:11 13 (NASB).

Why is it so difficult for so many of us to admit our guilt to God? What is so hard about saying to Him, "I’ve sinned"?

Maybe pride stands in our way. We refuse to accept the notion that we are as bad as Scripture says we are. So we rationalize our disobedience with well-thought-out excuses and rehearse them so often we begin to believe our own stories.

Or perhaps fear keeps us aloof. We think if we do confess our sins, His discipline won’t be tempered by His mercy. So we hide the depth of our sins even from ourselves – hoping that maybe God Himself won’t notice them.


I wonder if things would have been different for our original parents if they had been certain of God’s love for them. If they had they known in their inner core that nothing they could do would separate them from His deep affection for them, would they have tried to hide from God – and then when He found them, shift the blame for their sins to another?

It’s a rhetorical question, I know.

But . . . is it?

I wonder how my relationship with God would change if I was convinced of His mercy which is rooted in Christ’s blood. How would my relationship change if I really trusted in His unconditional love for me – and that His discipline was simply an extension of His compassion? Would I be as quick to rationalize my sins or blame others for them?

I don’t know.

But it would be nice to find out.