The Separation

In elementary Sunday school I remember my teacher saying, “Sin separates us from God.”  I believed her at age four and asked Jesus to forgive me of those sins.

I heard that statement pop up here and there over the following years and my mind always wrote it off as a simple way to explain the complexity of sin.  I was thinking about it yesterday though and I realized that statement goes much further than just explaining your need to accept Christ’s forgiveness.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love, but the reality is this:

When I get mad or watch something I shouldn’t watch or gossip I tend to shy away from God for a while.

I know I messed up and I feel really bad, but I dread getting back on my knees and spending the first few minutes of the conversation admitting to having made the same mistake – again.  Sin really does separate us from God, not because he moved, but because we feel guilty.  It’s in those moments that I have to remember Hebrews 4:16.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I don’t come before God on the basis of my goodness (thank goodness!).  I come with confidence because of Jesus’ goodness.