Own it, don't wear it.

My daughter is very generous. Mostly with other people's stuff... and by 'other people' I mean me. My daughter is very generous with my stuff. I think she takes after her mother... I'M JUST KIDDING!

Anyway...

It's one thing to be generous with our own property. It's something else to be generous with things that belong to other people. I think the latter is called fraud or stealing... or plagiarism (don't quote me on that...).

And though one of those are wrong, we often do it when it comes to owning up to mistakes. It's much easier - convenient - to ignore our own mistakes and move on, rather than owning up and taking responsibility for our actions. It's far more comfortable to accept mercy before confessing than it is to acknowledge our own frailty and failure. I've done it. I still do at times. And it is wrong. As R.M. Harrington put it:

"I once thought myself a good man, a man of high standards, and a man of strong moral fiber but I learned that even good men do bad things."

John writes the following in his first epistle:

"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him [Jesus], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)

True repentance begins with owning up to our mistakes. It starts by admitting that we've done wrong. It starts by not running away from our faults, and owning up to them. Only then are we able to put those mistakes on Christ's shoulders. We can't give away something we don't own.

And yet the Gospel of Christ says that this is not where the story ends. Because of the Cross we don't even own those mistakes anymore. At the Cross Jesus Christ took all those mistakes, all those sins and iniquities on Himself. He took ownership on that Good Friday. Paul explains it like this:

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit."
Romans 8:1-4 (NLT)

In return for our sins Christ offers us forgiveness, life, freedom, joy and peace; hope and a future. That's a pretty good deal for handing in our mistakes in exchange for joy and peace. Though owning up to our mistakes can be uncomfortable, the resulting joy and freedom far outweighs any feelings of guilt and condemnation, because once God has forgiven us - once He has set us free - we are totally forgiven and free indeed.

So here's the deal: Own your mistakes, but don't wear them. Own up to your sins, but hand them over to Christ who already paid the price in full. And remember that, if Christ did this for you, He did it for everyone around you as well. Be kind, be merciful and be loving to all.

Selah.