James 5: 15 and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
I have often used this passage to open up discussion in small group settings but, I myself find it hard to really put this into action. If you’re anything like me, you find it hard to truly be open to others. In my life, the toughest thing I have had to overcome is the feeling that I am not loved or accepted. Over and over again, I have been hurt by people who say they love me, and then, when I do something they don’t like… they turn their back and walk away. Over the years, without even realizing it I have become a person who trusts no one and believes nothing people say. What’s that? But you’re in ministry, how can you say that? Well, I find when people tell me they love me, I secretly say to myself, “yeah sure, wait until I mess up” or “wait until you don’t like something I do”. Have you ever found yourself in my shoes? Unknowingly you have become jaded and have locked yourself into a pattern that forces you to please others or just “keep the peace”? I like to say that I’m not a people pleaser, I like to say that I serve God and not man, but DO I ?
Recently I have found that the true meaning of this scripture is meant to give freedom to you because of your confession. It has nothing to do with how your peers react. It has nothing to do with whether or not they pray for you or they don’t judge you. It is simply this… God wants us to live a life that is authentic! Thats it. He say’s confess your sins one to another. He’s not saying that your friends can help you. He’s not saying that they will understand. He’s not even saying that you have to tell everyone, everything about you. What he’s saying here is that we shouldn’t be concerned about looking good in the eyes of others. We shouldn’t care what they think of us. The issue at hand, is that he wants us to be humble enough to humiliate ourselves and lower ourselves in the eyes of others so that we can honor God with our lives.
We too often live life in a way that hides the truth of who we are. Look at the extreme example of Ted Haggard. He had lived a life in which he covered the truth of who he was with a facade that looked holy in the eyes of men. Answer this… which is better, a beautiful clean house with termites eating away at the foundation, or a “fixer upper” with strong wood and a solid foundation?
Have you ever been in a cold dark place? Maybe under a house or in a cave. Those places always have one thing in common, they have mold, mildew, and rott. Don’t lock your heart away in a deep dark place.
Imagine what the church would look like if you knew everyone’s junk. Even the pastor’s! At my former church in South Carolina our youth pastor admitted in a sermon that he didn’t read his bible every single day. .. Families left the church. WOW what if instead of judging him, they confessed their faults? Humility solves all problems.
What is your personal truth?
What if we all walked in truth, with no illusions, no dillusions, only TRUTH.
As for myself, I have a new resolve to please God with my life, who cares if those around me love me ! I will choose to love them, love God, and love the Man that God is making me.
I pray the same for you.
I was completely blessed by this! Keep them coming Matt.
Comment by Jaime Ledesma — September 8, 2009 @ 4:11 am |