Daily Devotions
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
Some people know how to throw a party where everybody has fun. Some people don’t.
According to the Associated Press article that ran last week there is a sixteen-year-old in Melbourne, Australia, who fits into the second category.
The young man took advantage of his parent’s absence and decided to invite some of his friends to his house for a bit of frivolity.
He invited a few people, more than five hundred showed up. After the neighbors complained about the noise, the police arrived and asked the mini-mob to tone things down or knock it off. The suggestion of the officers wasn’t appreciated.
Some of the partygoers responded by throwing glass bottles at the police cars and others vandalized the neighbors’ homes. It took thirty police officers, a dog squad, and a helicopter to restore control. The bill for putting a lid on the party was right around eighteen thousand dollars. It’s a price the boy may have to pay.
And what do you think was the boy’s reaction to all of this? Was he embarrassed? Did he think about running away from home before his parents returned? Was he sorrowful and repentant? If you thought he was any of those things, you’d be wrong.
When the lad was asked if he would ever throw such a party again, he replied, “I would do it again this weekend… if my parents were not due home from vacation this week.”
This comment reminds me of the way some sinners act. Since they think God isn’t watching they believe the Lord doesn’t see what they’re doing, and they feel free to sin as much as they like.
And they do so without any kind of repentance.
Well, the boy is going to find out mom and dad are coming home, and sinners are someday going to see the Savior return in judgment. This is why a repentant heart is in order. A repentant heart, that’s what John wanted God’s people to have. We who have been redeemed by the Savior still sin; that’s a given. What should also be a given is we should be contrite for our past wrongs and committed to doing better in the future.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, for my daily sins, I ask forgiveness. For the knowledge that You forgive me, I am truly grateful. In Your Name. Amen.