A thought for the week

In our modern world, even in our churches, there are three very old fashioned words that are rarely used: sin, guilt and repentance.

To sin simply means to miss the mark (originally to miss the bullseye in archery, later to miss the mark of what God intended us all to be – perfect). Who can claim to be perfect? Certainly not I.

To feel guilt/guilty is to feel you have committed a specified or implied offence and is often the first step towards repentance.

And to repent simply means to change your mind.

While never encouraging anyone to sin – “As for the man who is a cause of stumbling to one of these little ones who have faith, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck”, Mark 9:42-43 and “He who is without sin amongst you, let him throw the first stone”, John 8:7 – we should never condemn.

I attempted to take my own life twice, after a long period of suffering from deep depression.

If I had more faith I would not have succumbed but if I had less faith I would not have been able to fight my way back and to full employment and mental health well being et al.

I suffered great guilt that I had tried to take a life, if only my own, and had survived and recovered when so many others, far better and far more gifted than I, had not. I knew I couldn’t go it alone.

Thankfully none of us has to, as I believe God’s son Jesus took upon himself the sins of all of us, past, present and future, 2000 years ago and, by his death and resurrection, destroyed the power of sin and death, if we simply repent and believe.

For folk like me, with so many sins, read human failings, that really is good news.

Paul Farmer, Reading