As a graphic designer, I tend to make a lot of errors. I grab the wrong layer or I delete something I didn’t mean to. Thankfully, technology has provided us with an “undo” button. Ctrl + Z (command shortcut for undo) is the quickest way to restore the original before the error was made. As humans, we make a lot of errors too. Saying something hurtful about another person in anger, or doing something I know isn’t right, is a grievous error. However, life does not have an “undo” button. There is no shortcut to make things right again. Once feelings are hurt, or deeds are done, there is no “magic” button to make it right.
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13
We can’t just leave our sin unchecked (Proverbs 28:13). If I left out a line of text after accidentally deleting It, the graphic would not be complete. It is the same with sin. As we walk through our Christian life, we have to address our sins or we will not prosper in Christ. We need to pursue God and seek forgiveness. The Bible says
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
“Fallen short” means we are not the best we could be. We missed the mark, but praise God, He does not leave us in this state. To restore a right relationship with God we must realize what we did was sinful, confess it as sin before Him and ask for forgiveness. We may not have an undo button, but God tells us that
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
He forgives all unrighteousness and provides complete restoration with Him
Well, what about restoration with others? If we sin against someone else we are to go to that person and ask for forgiveness. That includes gossip, slander (Eph. 4:29) and stealing (1 Cor. 6:10). It is all sin. When we commit these types of sins, our relationship with that person is broken. As Christians, we are called to love one another (John 13:34) and it is out of this love that we want to be restored to a right relationship with each other. Forgiveness fosters humility. We are to humble ourselves, go to that person, and admit that we sinned against them and were wrong.
Asking for forgiveness from another is actively seeking restoration in our relationship with them. It takes a lot of humility to admit to someone that we messed up. That requires us to open our heart to them in order to be restored. This is not easy but God calls us to do it.
– Rick Thomas
Asking for forgiveness from another is actively seeking restoration in our relationship with them. It takes a lot of humility to admit to someone that we messed up. That requires us to open our heart to them in order to be restored. This is not easy but God calls us to do it.
Sin nature runs deep in us as humans. From the moment Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, sin has driven a wedge in our relationship with God and with others. If we look in the Bible we can see a lot of our beloved characters had to deal with sin. David murdered. Moses struck the rock in anger. Peter lied and denied Christ. These are Godly men that we hold in high esteem. However, all of them were human. All of them had sin in their lives. The apostle Paul even struggled with sin in his own life (Romans 7: 14-25). God wants us to grow in Him and not stray. How do we avoid the separation from God that sin causes? One way to do that is to read His Word. 2 Tim 3:16 says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” It’s all right there telling us how to be Godly. We are to hide His Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) and guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23-27) so we won’t sin against Him.
When we commit errors or sin there is no “undo” button. We are to actively and purposely seek God and His forgiveness to restore us again. Thinking back to the graphics, how much more focused on my project would I be if there were no “undo” button. If life were as simple as a stroke of a button, we would never grow in Christ. Thankfully, God has provided a way to restore us to what He wants us to be.