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Have you ever noticed we are slow to see our own flaws but other people see them quite clearly? It’s like the gouge in the wall or the stain on the carpet. If you don’t fix them immediately, after a couple weeks—if you’re like me—you forget about them.
Weeks pass into months, and you reach a point where you don’t notice them at all. Then, one day, you’re expecting guests and you start seeing your house differently. All of a sudden, with company on their way, the imperfections and flaws stand out. Oh, how you wish you’d fixed them way back when . . . they first happened.
That’s the way it is with sin. There’s a perfect time to confess sin, and it’s as soon as we know we’ve committed it. If we don’t confess our sin then, there’s a good chance we’ll forget about it. The guilt of it hangs around, but soon we forget it. We go on as if nothing ever happened.
But there is a second-best time to confess sin, and that’s as soon as we remember it. This is one purpose of our weekly Communion time. First Corinthians 11:28 tells us to examine ourselves during the Lord’s Supper. Part of that self-examination is to reflect upon any unconfessed sin in our lives—any gouges and stains hanging around that we may have forgotten about.
That’s one big reason God wants us to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. It’s why our church offers it each Sunday. It’s the reason I personally encourage you not to miss worship on Sunday. You may find many things to do on any given Sunday, but nothing is more important than a time of self-examination for recalling sins that need to be remembered and confessed.
On Sunday, it’s like having a special guest come over. All of a sudden, you see your house with new eyes. You see your house as you expect your guest will see it. In the same way, knowing you are in the presence of Jesus causes you to see your own life with new eyes.
Today, as we partake of the bread, which represents Jesus’ body, and the juice, which represents his blood, let’s do some introspection. Let’s try to see ourselves as our special guest is going to see us. And let’s make sure we confess any sin that needs to be confessed. Let’s fix things up for Jesus.
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