I forgot to take out the trash on Friday morning! It was a holiday Monday, so the regular trash day on Thursday gets pushed back one day. It is really not a big deal…just a hassle next Thursday when the garbage man will have to take care of two weeks worth of trash, instead of one! Not to mention the smell of old trash!
This did, however, get me to thinking…
As a man on a trash truck takes my trash, the body of Christ has a role in the confessing of sin. Look at what James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” When we confess and pray for each other, healing happens because ACCOUNTABILITY happens.
Romans 10:10 says, “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” Every Thursday afternoon, I don’t just know that the trash is gone from my curb; I believe that the trash is gone, before I even pull into my driveway. Much the same way with BELIEF in Christ, you have to BELIEVE, not just see it!
1 John 1:9 says, “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” The great news here is that if we miss a day, then we are not going to be toast. It is not CONFESS to a person in our family, in the church, or to a random member of the clergy––It is to Christ that we CONFESS our sins to––the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
To take out the trash of your life, it takes 3 things…ACCOUNTABILITY, BELIEF, and CONFESSION!
Aren’t you glad that you if you miss a day, you are not penalized? The load doesn’t become too big for Christ and the trash gets taken––never remembered by the Garbage Man! Not even the foul stench of our old trash!