Out with It!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).
Once there was a noble prince who was sent out by his father, the king, to look over the land that he would someday rule. His journey took him into every nook and cranny of the kingdom, and he saw and learned many helpful things about people and places.
One day he visited a large jail. The jailor was so overcome by the royal visit that he went completely overboard and told the prince that in honor of the visit the prince could select one of the prisoners to set free.
The word spread like wildfire throughout the jail and when the prince talked to the prisoners they were prepared for him. He learned that none of the men felt that they deserved to be behind bars. Some had taken the "rap" for someone else. Some said they had been framed. Some claimed they were nowhere near the scene of the crime they had been arrested for, and many blamed a crooked judge for their imprisonment.
He found one man, however, who told a different story. He had committed murder, he admitted. He was paying for his crime and because he had given no mercy to his victim he expected no mercy to be shown him. He said he was getting just what he deserved. This, of course, was the man the prince recommended for release.
It is very important to be forgiven for our misdeeds. That is what Christ did for us in his death on the cross. But no one can be forgiven unless he admits that he is wrong. The sooner we admit we have done wrong the sooner things will be right with us.
God, make me strong enough to say I am wrong.
