No Peace to the Wicked

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 6
 
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
My mother was a frail person, and there were ten of us children. When needed, she spoke to us about naughty things we were doing and sometimes she would slap our hands, but if there was any serious discipline to be meted out, she would say, “We’ll wait until Daddy comes home.” That was an all-day-long punishment. It wasn’t that my dad was a hard man. It was that he grieved so much when he knew we had done wrong. I hated to see the sad look on his face.
I can remember he would set me close to himself when I was young and talk to me about my wrongdoing. He was hoping that I would confess my sins, and he was ready to forgive them. Of course there would be a spanking, too; and then Daddy and I would both be happy again. One day I wouldn’t own up to what I’d done. I kept telling Daddy happy little things hoping it would clear up the situation and perhaps enable me to avoid a spanking. It didn’t work. All during dinner Daddy looked unhappy, and my conscience got busy because I knew I was the cause of his sadness. When dinner was over, I could hardly wait to run to him, telling him how naughty I was and ask his forgiveness. Then he gave me a big hug and we were both happy again.
That relationship is mirrored now in my relationship with God my Father. If I sin, He is waiting for me to confess my sins. We find that, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Then we will be at peace with God and His peace will become evident in our family, too. If we attempt to have fellowship with God in our sins, we are insinuating that God can walk with sin. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa. 57:21).