Day 12 – Easy with Faults

Brother Lawrence said that he “acknowledged his sins and was not surprised by them. He confessed them to God and did not plead before him to excuse them; after that he returned to his ordinary exercises of love and adoration in peace.”

When Brother Lawrence was convicted of sin, he quickly admitted it to God and trusted God to forgive him fully. He then returned to “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

He didn’t make excuses for his sins. Didn’t try to hide them. Didn’t rationalize them away. Rather, he confessed them freely.

Without minimizing God’s holiness and justice, Brother Lawrence also understood that God “knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

So he wasn’t surprised or alarmed or demoralized by his sins. And he was equally assured of God’s love and forgiveness.

Brother Lawrence was easy with his faults.

He simply put all these concerns into God’s hands again and again and left them there. He believed it was God’s job to make him holy, to form him to be like Christ, to transform his life into all God wants.

Some people are hard on themselves. Are you one of them? God forgives us in an instant, but you find it harder to forgive yourself.

You sin and ask God to forgive you. But you wallow in self-pity and beat yourself up on the inside for at least three days. You try to “atone” for your sins and absolve your guilt, when Jesus’s death on the cross already provided a full atonement (1 John 2:2).

While banging around with the pots and pans in the stressful hurry and heat of a monastery kitchen, Brother Lawrence teaches us to be easy with our faults, and say with assurance, “I am forgiven!” and return our hearts to peace.

Questions: When you sin and ask God to forgive you, how long does it take you to forgive yourself? Do you feel like you must somehow atone for your sins to absolve your guilt? Are you easy or hard on yourself?

This is God’s Word for you today,
Pastor Dave