Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
O I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. --
Scripture consistently claims that we make our best progress on the Christian journey by
recognizing how lost we have become. Why is that? Why is falling into error such an
important part of the discovery of spiritual truth? Doesn't God think we can do anything
for ourselves?
In the Bible we are certainly given a great deal of exhortations to live as responsible men
and women. We are responsible to choose whom we will serve, with whom we will conduct our lives,
and what we will do with the few fleeting years we have. God is not trying to turn us into
angels who have overcome our wills and the freedom to make decisions. To the contrary, what
God is hoping, most of all, is that we will choose to love him and his kingdom as much as he
loves us.
This means that Christians have to take their choices very seriously.
The spiritual criteria for evaluating any choice is whether or not it has left us open to God.
That is why confession is such a helpful milestone along the journey.
It invites us to see that even our best choices have been tainted by self-serving insecurities.
In confession we take responsibility for our bad choices that have led us in the wrong direction, ask forgiveness, and are left humbled by our need for God.
Thus confession opens up a space in our lives that was not there before.
That then becomes an open space for God to enter.
With his presence, we are then guided away from the road that leads to nowhere, and find ourselves on the path back to God.
-- Craig Barnes