Anyone who has ever had children or even been around them for any period of time knows that children have a tendency to blame others when something is done wrong. There is a character that lives in all of the houses where children reside; his name is “Not me.” I’m sure you know him. The milk is left on the counter and you ask who left it out. The response is generally, “Not me!” The evidence is there; the milk was left out and spoiled but no one will accept responsibility. I think that accepting responsibility for your actions is a learned behavior. We teach it to our children by becoming amateur detectives and continuing to ask questions until we determine the one who did the wrongdoing. We don’t have to make a big deal about it, but we do have to train our children to take responsibility and tell the truth. As a Christian, I know that God loves me so much that he sent His Son to take my blame for all of my sins.

God’s love is so encompassing that it is hard to conceive of such a love that turns our sin around into forgiveness. But we are not to just continue to sin lest we hurt the heart of the Father who has forgiven us so much. The Holy Spirit speaks to our conscience, just as we act as detectives to our children, and tells us that what we did was wrong. That is, if we don’t already know that, which I think most times we do. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit pursues us, wanting us to be right before the Father, and so we confess just as we should.

Strive means to try hard. It indicates effort on our part. It is not always easy to confess and accept responsibility for our sins, but it is a necessary part of having a good and open relationship with God. We don’t fear going before His throne because we have a clear conscience before Him, knowing that we are His beloved children and that He wants us to take responsibility for our actions. Like a child, sometimes it is easier to blame others. “But, Lord, you know that my friend tempted me and so I went to the bar and got drunk.” (Note to my readers: I made up this scene. I have never actually committed this sin, but I have indeed committed many others.). The friend may have done the tempting, but you did the action. Just as Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden and CHOSE to sin, so do we at times and must accept the responsibility for our sins, confess them before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Like a loving parent, God does not stop loving us because we fall short of His expectations for us. He just wants us to confess, stop doing that sin and move on.

Every day is a new day, full of opportunities and choices. Each day, God gives us strength to make the right choices. He wants us to be blameless before Him and that is a real possibility because we can always tell Him what we have done wrong and ask for His forgiveness. But, better than that, we can always count on Him to give us strength to live the way we should, representing Him and His grace and mercy to a lost world.

Photo courtesy of a friend from church named Mike.

God gives us favor and honor. He gives us every good thing that we can conceive of because he helps us to walk in a way that is blameless. God wants us to succeed, just like parents want their children to succeed in all that they do. As a loving Father, He helps us to succeed and rejoices when we do. I hope that you all have a blessed day, remembering how much God loves you and how He strengthens you daily. Choose to do the right thing, and be blessed and blameless!