Singing Be Thou My Vision in Saul Church, St. Patrick’s first church in Ireland, with our missions team felt so special. Because I love that old hymn, I wasn’t content with the first verse. I led out on all the verses.
Fast forward nine years. I was in the same place with the
same team leader, this time on a friendship retreat. When it came time to sing,
she specified that we’d only sing the first verse.
I was crushed. Not just because of what she said, but
because of what she didn’t say. I felt like her request was a direct critique
of my choice the first time. A memory that had been full of peace and joy from
my first trip became tainted with regret.
Regret.
Such a beast it is, and so hard to get rid of once it takes
root in a memory.
This past week I’ve been wrestling that very beast. The
enemy’s been bringing up instances in which I didn’t do something perfectly or
did something wrong. To be honest, I can’t remember even one example other than
what I opened with.
I talked with my counselor about this on Friday, and he gave
me a good process to help work through those feelings: Identify the mixture
(Bad? Sad? Mad?), grieve as needed, confess sin to God, and forgive myself by agreeing
with God’s forgiveness of me.
Then on Saturday, Paraclete took a turn.
If I ask you what Romans 3:23 says, I’m quite sure you could
quote it:
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
But what if I ask you what the next verse says? Do you know
that one as well?
YouVersion had both verses as their verse of the day
on Saturday. And even though I know I’ve read Romans 3 multiple times in my
life, I was blown away by verse 24:
“…and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
I put ellipses on both ends of each of those verses because
this section (vs. 21-26) is one of Paul’s famous run-on sentences. And it’s not
all about the bad news of vs. 23. It’s chock-full of amazing, good news!
Yes, the bad news is important to know. It’s valid to
teach to ‘children’ of all ages (including adults). But if we don’t give them
the rest of the passage – that God’s righteousness comes to us through belief
and faith in Christ’s redemption – vs. 23 alone is a depressing, guilt- and
regret-filled statement, that may lead to striving and legalism.
We need the whole passage:
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Look at the repeated themes!
Vs. 23 is a blip on the screen, to shore up the argument
Paul develops that “there is no distinction” between Jews and Gentiles. Yes,
it’s an important, theologically sound blip. But this passage is about so much
more than the bad news. It’s full of hope, not of regret.
So the next time the enemy tries to rankle your soul with
thoughts of something you did wrong (or even just imperfectly) in the past,
listen for what the Holy Spirit says instead. You are righteous by Christ’s
redemption, received by faith. If Paraclete is the one prompting you to work
through something legitimate, do it! But don’t just wallow in regret like I
have for six years since that second trip to Ireland. Be free of past mistakes
in Christ!
When I was getting ready for the day yesterday, this song played on my Pandora. I'd heard it a few times before, but in the context of what I'd been learning, it really hit home!
