Set Free
This fall, I’ve taken the opportunity to clean out and organize my closet:
I confess it had been a while
I confess I can be messy
I confess that I stockpiled skirts from as far back as 1994
As to the condition of the corners of the closet, all I can say is “Holy Dust!” I scrubbed the floor and cleaned the walls. I threw out ancient blazers, sent five bags to the goodwill, and found space that I didn’t know I had! But more than anything else- I felt lighter and freer afterward. In a way, I was set free. Set free.
More than anything else, God wants me to be set free. More than anything else, God wants you and the whole creation to be set free! Our lives can be like closets, they tend to get messy and fill up with stuff that burdens us. It accumulates and we don’t always even perceive its drag-down power. Like me and my closet, nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, it is a natural part of being human. And that makes receiving forgiveness divine. We need to be set free!
That’s why I love coming to church and doing the “confession and forgiveness”. It’s where I have an opportunity to confess my stuff to God, even the stuff I don’t realize I’m doing, and receive forgiveness. Sometimes I say to myself- “Katie, if the God of the Universe forgives you and gives you a fresh start, then you may as well forgive yourself too! You may as well forgive others too!” The closet is clean, the slate is wiped fresh. Being made right with God comes through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for love of you and this whole creation.
People have always needed confession and forgiveness. David, the writer of Psalm 32, expressed this need plainly: “When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long. Day and night you punished me. My strength was gone as in the summer heat. Then I confessed my sins to you and didn’t hide my guilt. I said, “I will confess my sins to the Lord,” and you forgave my guilt.” (Psalm 32:3-5)
You are set free, Midvale. Make your confession, and lighten your load. God forgives you, and Christ Jesus opens up your future. Come be set free with me at worship!
