Surprise!

READ: EZEKIEL 36:26-27; ROMANS 7:14–8:2; PHILIPPIANS 1:6

I’d been looking forward to the slumber party at our Sunday school teacher’s house for weeks. It was a rite of passage for girls at our church entering middle school. Little did I know the party included a surprise.

After living in a rundown house with a leaky roof in almost every room, our family built a new home. For the party, our teacher asked the girls in our class to bring a present for me to decorate the new bedroom I’d share with my sister. I felt so loved opening the unexpected gifts!

One girl, who I’ll call Nettie (I’ve changed all their names in this story) brought me a painting of a purple balloon with my name emblazoned across it. Carlotta and Lori gave me presents too. Then Kathleen arrived. She didn’t bring a present, and even though I hadn’t anticipated any gifts when I arrived, I suddenly felt cheated by Kathleen.

I didn’t like this self-centered demand I sensed stirring in my heart. I liked Kathleen and didn’t want to hold this against her—after all, Jesus doesn’t hold anything against me. I never asked about the lack of a gift, and we all moved on with the party. But I felt confused by my greedy attitude.

Even though we often desire to do the right thing, it’s hard to be consistently loving and kind. None of us can do it perfectly. We need Jesus to provide forgiveness because we continually miss the mark of righteousness. We also need His Spirit, guiding us in the rhythm of repentance and faith so that we can live in God’s good ways. Trusting in Christ, we receive both. He loves us so much that He lived a sinless life on our behalf, then died on the cross and rose from the grave to make the way for us to be forgiven and be part of His family forever.

But, like the apostle Paul, we often find ourselves struggling with ungodly thoughts or actions—even after we’ve put our trust in Jesus (Romans 7:21-25). It’s part of living in a broken world. We can be confident, though, that Jesus rescued us from the penalty of sin and has also promised to purify us through and through, making us more Christlike until He returns and makes us whole— never to wrestle with greedy or selfish impulses again. • Allison Wilson Lee

• As believers, we shouldn’t be comfortable with our sin. And, because of Jesus, we can experience complete forgiveness. How do these two truths exist together?

• Have you ever been surprised by sin? We can bring these confusing and discouraging moments to Jesus in prayer, lay it all out before Him, and rest in His sure forgiveness and great love for us.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)