Confess to your Brothers and Sisters
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:16
These make for wonderful memories and it's what makes family special. Unfortunately, there can also be some family drama and hardship. It's something that is inevitable, but scripture provides us with many ways to strengthen the relationships with our family (and friends). In today's devotion I wanted to focus on confession and how it can help keep families strong.
Confessing to God is something that we should be familiar with. We acknowledge before our God that we have sinned and seek forgiveness (1 John 1:9), but confessing to our family and friends can also be of great value. In James 5:16, James encourages us to confess your sins to one another, that we may be healed. . Whether it's a sin in general or a sin committed against the individual you are confessing to, there is freedom in confessing to a brother or sister.
If I wronged someone, but realize it and confess to them, it will help with reconciliation. If I sin against God, and confess to a brother, it makes that confession and commitment to repentance that much more intentional. That person can in turn pray for me! Benefits galore! Still... it's a hard thing to practice. And it's something that the enemy hopes we never get good at. It's my hope that in my own family I can live out a life of confession to my wife and kids when I do wrong. My boys will see that I'm not perfect, and my hope is that they would not try to appear perfect before their God, Mom and Dad, but to come before us humbly and honestly.
Father in Heaven, we thank you that you forgive us when we come before you and confess our sins. Help us to be church family that confesses to one another for accountability, reconciliation, and healing.
Amen
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