Confession

"Will Your grace run out if I let You down?
'Cause all I know is how to run

Will You call me child if I tell You lies?
'Cause all I know is how to cry

I am a sinner, if it's not one thing it's another
Caught up in words, tangled in lies
You are a Savior and You take brokenness aside
And make it beautiful, beautiful"
     - Brokenness Aside, All Sons & Daughters

Confession in worship is the art of proclaiming something true, resulting in a better knowledge of Who God is, and who we are in light of Jesus. Sometimes this can be humbling, heart-wrenching. Sometimes it can be encouraging, heartening. In this song from Sunday morning's service, we have both heart-wrenching and heartening confession.

Why is confession humbling or heart-wrenching? In a word: pride. Pride is perhaps one of the deadliest sins because it has the power to slowly isolate us from others. Pride separates us from the rest, because pride puts us above the rest. It says: I am better, I am smarter, I am more worthy than the rest. A prideful person has difficulty admitting they're wrong, apologizing, and of course, confessing. Confession is essentially conceding. It is giving up on our own truth fortified by pride, and exchanging it for another truth, fortified by the grace and sacrifice of Christ. When we sing, "I am a sinner, caught up in words, tangled in lies," we are admitting that we are powerless to help ourselves. In this way, confession is difficult. It requires us to humble ourselves, to admit the lie of pride... we don't have it all together. We are needy.

Why is confession encouraging or heartening? In a word: truth. When we confess our Savior Jesus is Lord over all--over Creation, over time, over the church, over our families, over even death--we are reminding ourselves and each other of powerful truth. We may not be in control, but the One in control is a God of grace, sacrifice, forgiveness, love. When we sing, "You are a Savior, and You take brokenness aside," we remember that Jesus paid the price for our sins long ago. All of the ugliness, the stain of sin, is washed away. Our sin was crucified with Christ, and now Christ lives in us and shines through us.

If you've ever told someone else you're sorry, and really meant it, you know the power of confession. Speaking the words that kill your pride is difficult, but those same words can proclaim freedom for our souls. As we experienced together on Sunday, confession that we are sinners and that Jesus has saved us, opened us up to praise God, our Redeemer.

Praise God: He is making us beautiful.