Fifty-Three Years Ago

 

Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – is the highest of the holy days in Jewish faith. The holy day falls on different days each fall because Yom Kippur – like Ash Wednesday, Passover, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday – follows the lunar calendar and not the solar calendar.

 

This year, Yom Kippur falls on October 2^nd, but in 1972, it fell on September 18^th. For me, today is my 53^rd anniversary of the time God began to change my life-trajectory.

 

First, let me back up just a little. On Yom Kippur in 1971 I woke up thinking about how I’d been living my life – and I was not happy about it. I knew intuitively that I was a sinner. I also knew God was not pleased with the way I was living. I knew I had to change. I needed to be a better Jew. So, when I awakened on Yom Kippur in 1971, I determined that I would obey the Ten Commandments for the rest of my life.

 

But when my girlfriend unexpectedly knocked on my apartment door around noon – my determination quickly evaporated.

 

Now, fast forward a year later. On Yom Kippur in 1972 I sat in my navy barracks room, sadly remembering my failure of one year earlier. I pulled my journal from my locker and wrote a heart-felt plea: “Oh, God – forgive me for my past sins and look with tolerance on my future ones.”

 

I wrote as I did because I knew I was trapped in sin. I knew no matter how hard I tried and how many promises I made – I could not live up to God's commandments. I didn’t know it at the time, but heart was at a place it needed to be for God to break through and reveal to my heart the answer to my prayer for forgiveness.

 

His answer was – and will always be – Jesus.

 

I think back to that day in 1972 quite often. And please do not misunderstand me – I am nowhere near the living out of holiness that I know I must live. I sin routinely. I suppose it is fair to say I remain trapped in sin because I still have a sin nature.

 

But now I DO have full access to God's forgiveness when I repent of those sins. Now I DO have access to the Holy Spirit who always empowers me to say ‘No’ to some temptation that wants me to say, ‘Yes.”  And while God does not, nor will He ever, look with tolerance on my sins – He always provides me the assurance that when I confess my sins – even if I must do so a dozen times a day for the same sin – God promises to wipe them from my record and from His memory. I’ve memorized dozens of Scriptures to that point.

 

But, enough about me. I hope what I am saying here speaks to you because until we grieve over our sin nature, we won’t know how desperately we need Jesus. Until we recognize we’re trapped in sin, we won’t know how desperately we need Jesus. Until we weep and mourn because we keep doing the same thing again and again and again – hating every time we do it – then we won’t know how desperately we need Jesus.

Please. Think long about what I am saying here. We fool ourselves to tell ourselves that all we need to do to please God is walk down the church aisle and make a ‘commitment’ to Christ. It’s wholly insufficient to be baptized and attend church each Sunday without a true and DAILY commitment of life and lifestyle to Christ. And such a change in our life will only happen when God wakes us up to realize we really DO need Jesus to save us from ourselves.

 

And that would be a good prayer, wouldn’t it? To ask God to reveal to you how desperately – how desperately – you need Jesus, and to ask Him to forgive your sins and change your own life-trajectory to match His will for your life.

 

If you’ve never done that, please don’t delay to do so.