Well, I messed that one up. Last week came and went, and I did not write an article for the paper. I’ve heard from all three of my faithful readers saying that they missed it.

Seriously, that was the first time I have done that. It probably is not as bad as showing up to church without preparing a sermon might be, but it was embarrassing, nonetheless.  

What do you do when you blow it? What do you say when you fail to meet expectations? In the society in which we live, your first option is to blame someone else. “The reporter took my comments out of context.” “My predecessor left me a mess.” And of course, as Geraldine used to say, “The devil made me do it.”

But is that really just our society? Is it really something new? After all, when caught after the first sin ever, Adam said, “The woman you gave me,” blaming Eve, and implicating God himself. In other words, it has always been our first tendency to put the blame on others.

I have a much better option for you when you find yourself in trouble. In 1 John we are reminded that we are all sinners: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” And then the solution follows in the very next verse: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  

Those verses remind me of something that is truly good news. God knows that we are sinners. He knows that we will mess up. But he has a plan to forgive us and set things right. Paul wrote to the Romans, “God commended his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What good news that is!  

“When you mess up, ‘fess up.” That’s what my dad told me. And that’s the teaching of the Bible.  It is the only way to be at peace with God. I pray you will do just that.