Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full observance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrew 10:22)
Every affection we give to the cross is a sign of our allegiance to it. To live and die for the cross is a commitment which drives us to the way of truth. However, it is not just about holding onto whom or what we love but it is all about living for the cause of whom we are in love with. In so many instances our minds are at times led astray by what we call sin. Understandably none of us can ever claim to be without sin but a truth we know is that we are sealed by the spirit of the Most High. It means that we are sealed in this life to qualify us for the next. If this sounds familiar, I trust that the scriptures are in your heart. In our affection for God, the cares and worries of this life often distracts us from the life of worship and devotion. To add to all of this, it is our sins which strains the intimacy and the relationship between us and our Maker. For the serious ones it always hurts most when we sin most and trust me it is not pleasant to live with the hurts in us.
We see the likes of David committing adultery with Bathsheba and this acts of his sin caused him greater harm, greater misery which led him to walk on the edge for most part of his life. This also gives us a clear picture of how saints sins and by what happens when we sin. To this the scripture states “ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil n your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge (Psalms 51:3-4). Acknowledging our guilt is the first step to deliverance and it is a comfort in itself. Every dictate passed against him came to pass, the death of his son and the ravishing of his own wives by his own son. It must have been bitter, so bitter and yet even in all of these the Lord’s hand was with him because he loved Christ. Just because he sinned, it does not mean we are guiltless, we have our own sins and flaws to confess.
Whatever the degree or the nature of our sins are, if we had sinned, we need to reach to the cross of Christ in repentance. If forgiveness is what we need, it shall be given to us if we acknowledge our sins and if renewal is what we yearn for, it shall be bestowed upon us by how much we desire it. For every relationship to work, we have to cleanse ourselves first before we get to see the one we love. To this the Psalmist wrote “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me have joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity (Psalms 51:2, 5-9).This faith speaks of sincerity in confession, intimacy in relationship and expectancy in renewal. In our affection for the cross, there has to be a total hatred for the world. It means that we are to carry our cross righteously for the cause of what we must achieve. Here, the cross means salvation and it is for everyone who believes. Let this words pierce your heart as it would the others and let the Word increase the power of God which is within you. God is within us.
NB: Every church has to understand that we cannot love God in sin, hypocrisy and deception but only in the truth. We cannot be neutral when it comes to our relationship with God and it will sadly prove to be disastrous if we are to love Christ in pretension. The likes of Judas Iscariot are a curse and it will be unwise for any sinner to step into his shoes. God does not call us to draw near to Him in deception but in sincerity, passion and commitment. The revelations given, the truths revealed, it is unto us to embrace what we embrace, love what we love and be committed to the passion of the cross. This is for us.
