It is interesting how I will start out reading an article thinking I won’t have much to say but then as I read all these thoughts come out of my memory. In the end, the point I was most struck by is that our failures need honest confessions. Judah gave an honest confession. I often wondered why Judah was raised up and his oldest brother was put down since they both committed serious sins. This may explain a lot. Judah confessed and was repentant of his sin. Rueben as far as I remember was not.
I think this is one place the Catholic Church has things more correct than the Protestant Church. The Protestant Church talks about confession but doesn’t really make a clear path to do it. I was raised in a non-denominational church and I have a friend I talk to weekly who was raised Catholic. We have talked about the differences quite a bit and one was going through all the side things Catholics believe that Protestants don’t. In confession the difference is the confessional with the priest hearing confessions. We watched some great YouTube videos by a priest I really came to respect. One thing he said about the confessional has stuck with me. He said he sees the confessional “as a place of victory.” I was impacted to the point I asked my pastor if I could do a confessional with him and we did.
We should confess our sins regularly to Jesus, even though he knows our hearts and sins already, but I think there is another layer of healing when we confess our sins to a brother or sister in Christ.
Recently our men’s group went through an exercise where we looked at our lives from innocence to brokenness to rescue to restoration.
Innocence - life as a child when everything around you was innocent and fun
Brokenness - that point when something happened and your innocence was taken away - most often around 8-14 years old
Rescue - how God brought you out of that brokenness to heal you
Restoration - how God is continuing to build on that rescue to make you more like Jesus
We then shared our stories in small groups of 4-6. There is a freedom to telling another understanding person all the good things and bad things in your life. It builds a camaraderie where I am no longer alone in this. We are in this together.
Thank you, Daryl. This really adds to the conversation. Judah's confession is striking not because his sin was small, but because his response was honest. The story reminds us that repentance is not simply feeling sorry, but telling the truth about ourselves.
I also appreciate your reflections on confession. Whatever our church tradition, there is something very powerful about bringing things into the light rather than carrying them alone. James' instruction to "confess your sins to one another" often receives less attention than it deserves.
Your men's group exercise sounds both challenging and healing. I can see how sharing those stories of innocence, brokenness, rescue and restoration would create a real sense of fellowship. As you say, there is a freedom that comes when we realise we are not struggling alone and that God's grace is at work in all our stories.
Thank you for taking the time to share this. Your comment has given me plenty to reflect on as well.
It is interesting how I will start out reading an article thinking I won’t have much to say but then as I read all these thoughts come out of my memory. In the end, the point I was most struck by is that our failures need honest confessions. Judah gave an honest confession. I often wondered why Judah was raised up and his oldest brother was put down since they both committed serious sins. This may explain a lot. Judah confessed and was repentant of his sin. Rueben as far as I remember was not.
I think this is one place the Catholic Church has things more correct than the Protestant Church. The Protestant Church talks about confession but doesn’t really make a clear path to do it. I was raised in a non-denominational church and I have a friend I talk to weekly who was raised Catholic. We have talked about the differences quite a bit and one was going through all the side things Catholics believe that Protestants don’t. In confession the difference is the confessional with the priest hearing confessions. We watched some great YouTube videos by a priest I really came to respect. One thing he said about the confessional has stuck with me. He said he sees the confessional “as a place of victory.” I was impacted to the point I asked my pastor if I could do a confessional with him and we did.
We should confess our sins regularly to Jesus, even though he knows our hearts and sins already, but I think there is another layer of healing when we confess our sins to a brother or sister in Christ.
Recently our men’s group went through an exercise where we looked at our lives from innocence to brokenness to rescue to restoration.
Innocence - life as a child when everything around you was innocent and fun
Brokenness - that point when something happened and your innocence was taken away - most often around 8-14 years old
Rescue - how God brought you out of that brokenness to heal you
Restoration - how God is continuing to build on that rescue to make you more like Jesus
We then shared our stories in small groups of 4-6. There is a freedom to telling another understanding person all the good things and bad things in your life. It builds a camaraderie where I am no longer alone in this. We are in this together.
Thanks again for the article.
Thank you, Daryl. This really adds to the conversation. Judah's confession is striking not because his sin was small, but because his response was honest. The story reminds us that repentance is not simply feeling sorry, but telling the truth about ourselves.
I also appreciate your reflections on confession. Whatever our church tradition, there is something very powerful about bringing things into the light rather than carrying them alone. James' instruction to "confess your sins to one another" often receives less attention than it deserves.
Your men's group exercise sounds both challenging and healing. I can see how sharing those stories of innocence, brokenness, rescue and restoration would create a real sense of fellowship. As you say, there is a freedom that comes when we realise we are not struggling alone and that God's grace is at work in all our stories.
Thank you for taking the time to share this. Your comment has given me plenty to reflect on as well.