The Truth Hurts

When arguing with my husband (or anyone for that matter), nothing hurts more than when they point out the truth. It stings, and at times, I would rather be straight up punched in the gut. I would rather be in an arguement with someone and them accuse me of all sorts of insane and unrealistic allegations than to point out the cold hard facts to me. I cannot justify or brush away the truth.

Could you imagine how hard it was for the people in Acts 3 to swallow Peter's words to them? (Acts 3:13-15)

"The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this."

GULP! Oh, man.

But his next words were of hope, for the people then and for people now. Whether it is something minor, like realizing that it was my turn to do the dishes and I did not, or something huge, like responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, there is hope.

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

I subscribe to this daily email (All Pro Dad's Play of the Day) and yesterday it talked of the difference between saying sorry and asking for forgiveness (in respect to parenting, but very true for our lives as well).

" 'Sorry' is OK for accidents, like spilling milk or bumping into someone. But when your kids do something on purpose -- calling their brother or sister a name, not sharing -- then they have to say, "I was wrong -- please forgive me." And they have to do it without making excuses and without a bad attitude. Asking for forgiveness is an experience that teaches humility and responsibility. And that's nothing to be sorry about.

I wish I could offer words of wisdom and advice on how to make it easier to hear the truth and react, especially when it's truth that we're ashamed of or reality that we do not want to face, but in all honesty, I still struggle with this. It's a day to day thing to look in the mirror without the smokescreen and say, "I messed up and now, I need to fix it." If you feel like this is an area that hits home to you, maybe today is the day to repent to God and ask Him to wipe away your sins. If He can forgive the death of His son, why wouldn't he be able to forgive you?