Words of Life: An Enduring Legacyনমুনা

Pray for each other.

Confession is good for the soul, we are told, but it’s a hugely challenging element of discipleship. Confession to God is hard enough. We all stand in danger of failing to confess to God. While we appreciate that an all-seeing, all-knowing God is already aware of our failures, it is crucial for us that we recognise our failings and articulate our confession to God. In the story of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52 NIV), the crucial moment is when Bartimaeus says, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ It was his confession that brought about the healing and restoration.

However, James further makes clear that if we have wronged someone, we should also go to them and make it right. Just confessing to the Lord in this case is insufficient. We have to go to the person who we have wronged and humble ourselves. That means confessing that we were wrong, we did wrong or we spoke wrongly, and seeking their forgiveness. For many disciples, this is extremely difficult. We fear losing face and so our confession becomes at best diluted and dissipated, and at worst non-existent. It is often hard these days to make ourselves vulnerable and open to another person, but this is the way in the Kingdom of God. It is the only way that we can be fully restored. Leaving matters to cool down only works to a certain extent. Confession clears the board.

But there is another side to this. When we are the person wronged, we have to be ready to forgive and pray for the person who has wronged us. When someone comes to us with their confession, we have to humble ourselves for the sake of restoration and renewal. While equally necessary, it is also demanding and challenging to act in this way.