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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Shame and Sin

Shame &Sin

I have struggled with anxiety and depression on and off throughout my life, sometimes it is barely noticeable, simply background noise as I go through the busyness of life. Sometimes it becomes my main focus, to the point that I feel as if I cannot get out of my own head for long enough to accomplish what I need to accomplish. That is why when Pastor Justin mentioned “social anxiety” during the sermon this Sunday my antenna immediately went up. I often feel isolated and unable to connect with people because of it. I have seen this firsthand in how it affects my friendships; I feel as if I cannot be a good friend because of it and it leaves me wondering if others view me as selfish. I am ashamed that I may not be measuring up to others expectations of me, or even my own expectations of me. That is how sin works; it creates distance between people, isolating them from each other and from God.

When the apple was taken from the tree it was in a quest to become our own gods, something we were never designed to do. The fruit of the tree gave us knowledge we were never meant to have. Before the fall we were fulfilled in the knowledge given to us by God alone. Satan placed doubt of God's goodness and sovereignty in the minds of Adam and Eve just as sin does to us now. Instead of looking to God we look to the “Tree” for our fulfillment, but we were created by God for his glory and were meant to be fulfilled by obedience and trust in God and not by things of this world. By grasping for something they could never hope to attain Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness, and tried to cover themselves against their shame. They tried to hide their disobedience from God, but God sought them out.

“But, God,” are my two favorite words in the Bible. Despite our disobedience, despite our shame, God still seeks us out. When we try to hide from him he asks us “Where are you?” God still wants us to know him despite him knowing our sin. He sent his Son to pay the price for, and because of, our sin. God knows we are weak in the face of temptation, we will always choose sin on our own so he intervenes on our behalf. That is why anxiety and depression are so interesting. They tell us we are not good enough and they are right, we cannot do enough good to make up for our sin. That is why works will not save us. Only through Jesus’ death can we be saved, but we can rest knowing that he did in fact die for our sin and the price has been paid in full.

~Rachel Whippo

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