1 John 1:5 

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

1 John 1:8 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

Here’s something that I know about my deepest secrets – my secrets love to stay hidden back in the darkness. They thrive and grow in the shadows. They don’t like God’s light, and you know why – because light means exposure.

It’s like cleaning out a garage or some long-forgotten storage building. Who knows what kind of rodents you will uncover there – but whatever you uncover, you can bet that they will not be happy about it. They will run for all they’re worth – because they don’t like the danger of exposure.

As Christians, we want (and need) to keep our heart clean – even though we know that our hands and feet will get dirty through sin. We keep our hearts clean through confession and repentance, but we can’t repent of sins that we don’t acknowledge. That’s why we pray for God to convict us of our sins – to bring them to light and help us see them for what they really are.

The prayer may be difficult, the light may be blinding, and the truth may be tough to accept. But when we allow the light of God’s Truth to penetrate our heart, we will see God more clearly than ever before.

Why do you think confessing our sins to God (and repenting) are such important disciplines in our Christian lives?