We all make mistakes; such a simple statement yet one pregnant with meaning. All of us have this basic fact in common with every other human being who has ever lived; we...make...mistakes. We all fall short.
The dictionary defines a mistake as, "An error in action, calculation, opinion or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc." A mistake is something we do which has been judged wrong. However this begs the question, "By whom or what have I been judged?" Who ultimately determines what is right or wrong? Do we possess an innate ability to discern the difference? Is there an objective truth by which we "know" an action to be correct or incorrect? The very idea we could make something called a "mistake" necessitates an answer to the question, "How do we know what actually is a mistake."
Perhaps the greater question is one of accountability. If we admit the possibility a person can make a mistake, we necessarily concur with the idea of something or someone to whom we are held accountable. Man can do what is right in his own eyes but his "rightness" must somehow be defined and that definition, regardless of how personal, must be true beyond the one who establishes it. For instance, we can say the sky is brown but this does not change what is true, the sky is blue. We can call a horse a pig but our new name for horse never changes the true nature of what has been termed a "horse" by generations of people before us. Accountability, whether we admit it or not, is a fact of our existence. We are all simply looking to what or to whom we are being held to account.
Jesus made a bold statement when in John 14:6 He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." What He teaches here is, "I am the standard by which life is judged." Our life is judged right or wrong by the truth and truth is Jesus. All of our thoughts, words and actions are determined right or wrong by Him. We are held accountable to what the Bible calls "righteousness" which in simple terms is "God's way of doing things." Unfortunately for us, the Bible says all have fallen short of God's standard. So again we are confronted with a question, "If we have failed is there a way to be forgiven and made right?"
Jesus went on in John 14:6 to say, "I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." The way we are forgiven and made right before God is through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the Cross in order to pay for our mistakes(which the Bible calls sin). He paid the price! However, in order to take advantage of what Jesus has done for us we must pray to God the following: "Jesus, I recognize I have made mistakes and fallen short of Your perfect standard of right and wrong. I believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my mistakes. Please forgive my sins and mistakes. I give you my life and ask for a new life from you."
Have you ever really prayed such a prayer to God? Have you ever dealt with the many mistakes you have made in life which offend a holy, perfect God? Someday there will be an accounting at which we will all be held accountable for what we say, think and do. If you have never genuinely sought the forgiveness of God and given your life to Him why not pray this prayer today and begin a new life as God's kind of man or woman?
James
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