Knowing our sin can point us toward God as Savior

Do you ever feel like everything that goes wrong in your life is you fault? “What did I do this time?” This feeling of guilt is not uncommon, whether people know about God or not.

I confess to feeling some guilt recently. It’s a long story, but I’ll tell it. On March 21, I had my oil changed, and so I had my studded tires taken off my car and my summer tires put on at that time to avoid the rush. You may remember the big snow on March 23 for Palm Sunday. I mentioned that in my Kiwanis meeting on March 26, to which someone said jokingly, “What do you expect from a cheechako (new person to Alaska)?” I pointed out I’ve been in Alaska more than 20 years.

So I asked, “How long does it take till you’re not considered cheechako?” I was told, “Until you get smart.”

Uh, oh. Please remember all this was said in fun, but I confess there was still a shadow of guilt in the background.

Then, the day after Easter I got some long-needed new tires for my wife’s car. I should have learned from previous experience, I guess. You know the large snowstorm that hit us on April 6, 7, 8, and 9? There are still remains of that storm in piles along the roads.

Then, on April 22 I bought a new lawnmower. I was replacing a mower I bought in 1999. You guessed it. We had snow April 23. I have no answer for the reason for the snowfall on May 4, but Gerry Zellar piped up and said it was his fault. He’d been to Minnesota for his dad’s 90th birthday and experienced multiple late snowstorms in his short visit there. As soon as he arrived home we were blessed with snow on Saturday. He was feeling shadowy unnecessary guilt, even if he said those words jokingly.

My wife has another theory. My lawnmower purchase was not necessarily smooth, so I have kept working on that purchase into May. I took my grandson and granddaughter, Jake and Emma, fishing May 6. Usually, the ice is safe into the third week of April, but after that the ice gets rotten and its best not to risk the safety of the ice. But May 6, I had to use the extension on my power auger to drill through 45 inches of solid ice at Seventeen Mile Lake near Houston! Kathy says, “We’re going to have the coldest summer on record because you bought a new lawnmower.”

Guilt is a real emotion. There is reason for our guilt. We have all strayed from God’s loving direction and our sinful actions do have consequences. Sometimes those consequences are immediately obvious. And sometimes the consequences of sin are still there, but not as obvious.

But guilt can be twisted. Obviously, my tire changing and lawnmower buying did not affect the weather (right?). When we know our failings we can sometimes over-imagine the results of our sin, sort of like my stories about the snow. Our enemy can use this guilt. The word “devil” means slanderer or accuser. God’s enemy can take the knowledge of our sin and our guilt, he can accuse us and lie to us that God cannot love us because of our sin.

But there is a healthy side to guilt. In today’s world that is so full of selfish pride and arrogance, our guilt can be a balance to worldly arrogance and the knowledge of our sin can keep us humble. In fact, knowing our sin can point us toward God as Savior, instead of pointing us away from God as judge. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, God inspired Paul to write, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

I know I am a sinner and my sin has consequences. But I know I have a Savior. Jesus died to pay for my sin, and God forgives me and saves me as I confess my sin and turn to Jesus as my Savior.

I guess if you want to blame me for the late spring, I have broad shoulders. When we have a Savior we can admit our failings and turn to God’s forgiving and loving direction.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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