A Big Mean Monster

1 John 1:8-9

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Our reading today is from First John, Chapter one verses eight and nine.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

Many years ago, I was guest preaching at another church and I was making the point in my sermon about how easy it is for us when we start to fall in love with our sin, to want to stay away from God and not have to sort of face God and his word. And I remember way in the back row of the church, there was a man sitting there who suddenly looked at me and started nodding and nodding and nodding over and over again, and very much in agreement with me. And after the service, he came up to me and he said that point that you made really struck home with me. He said, for quite a while I fell into some deep sins and I did not want to go to church. I did not want to face God.

That’s an interesting thing about us. We see it in our first parents, Adam and Eve. As soon as they fall into sin, they try to run and hide in the bushes. We see it with Peter when he witnesses Jesus with the miracle of the great catch a fish and he comes to Jesus and says, Get away from me, Lord, I’m a sinful man. When we realize our sinfulness and don’t want to have to face God, sometimes our response is to think we need to put distance between us and God.

Martin Luther had a very interesting illustration. He said, Whenever we sin and we look at God, we think of God like a big mean monster who’s got a spear in his hand and we’re afraid of him. So we turn around and want to run away from him as fast as we can. But he said, the trouble is, God is much bigger than we are. And he will hunt us down and he will drive his spear through us if we keep running away from him. And then Luther said, What God tells us in his word is instead turn around and face him and run towards him and drop down before him and ask his forgiveness and seek his mercy. He says, then God comes to us and drops the spear, and He kneels down next to us and he embraces us with his love and forgiveness.

That’s quite a picture of how God would have us confess our sins to Him, and as our text says, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It will forgive us those sins. And we can see this in the life of Jesus, too, with people that he dealt with where they were sorry for their sins. And he would then approach them with such tenderness and with such grace. If we confess our sins, John says, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We see that in the woman that cries at Jesus feet. We see that in the story of the prodigal son, where the father runs out on the road to meet his son, who is now sorry for what he’s done.

And God now comes to you and me through his Word and through the Lord’s Supper. And He embraces us and he tells us of his mercy and his forgiveness and his compassion. And that’s really where God, if you will, picks us up in his arms and hugs us by his grace. Amen.