Guiltless


"In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple ... 'My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and I live among a sinful people and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.' Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven.'" Isaiah 6:1-7 

As I pulled over to the side of the road having lost track of how fast I was going, my mind began to go through the catalog of possible things I could say in my defense. "I was headed to an important appointment." "I was just about to slow down to turn." "It's my 50th birthday. Can you show me a little mercy?" Of all the things I could have said, "I'm not guilty", was not one of them.

Isaiah the prophet found himself in a similar place. Being guilty that is. He was standing before God in his vision absolutely devastated by all the horrible ugliness of sin in him that contrasted sharply with the radiant divine glory. Added to the awareness of his sin was all the dark-heartedness of his people too. Mercifully, in that moment, God intervened with the coal of atonement and his guilt and sins were gone.

Nobody needs to recite our litany of failures and sins. We've wronged others and we know it. Too often, we drag our guilt and shame through our days struggling to accept the fact that we don't have to anymore. Jesus covered it all. Even when this world would see us stoned, Jesus steps in and says, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." Have you fully embraced the wonder of being truly guiltless?

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