Just a Baby Roach

Back in my college days, after moving into our first apartment, my roommate and I spotted a roach. I asked my neighbor across the hall if he had seen any. He responded, “Just a baby roach; no big deal.” Huh? Obviously no one just has a baby roach problem–it’s a generational influx of pests that takes a lot of money and energy to exterminate.

So it is with our sins. We don’t have big or little sins, neither baby nor adult sins. Sin is a pesky part of our human nature that we will deal with until we go home with Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul was dealing with sin in the church. For whatever reason, there was a delay in the church’s leadership to deal with a blatant, public sin. Paul admonished them to action because it only takes a little bit of sin to infect the entire church.

This doesn’t mean that we are to call out everyone’s sin. We would never get out of church! It means that we can’t excuse our sin personally or corporately. First John 1:9 gives a great comfort for all of us sinners: If we confess our sins and ask God to forgive us, He will cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness.

Yet confession precedes our forgiveness. When we try to justify our “baby roach” sin, we will fail. Our bondage comes from hiding or justifying our sins, but our liberty comes from the acknowledgement and purging of sin in our lives. We have the Holy Spirit, who gently corrects and convicts us of sin. Deal with it. Purge it. It’s more than just a baby roach.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I recognize that I fall short in my sins and sometimes I attempt to justify them. However, I know that You have called me to be holy as You are holy. Help me, Holy Spirit, to purge out my sinful ways and continually seek reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Amen.

In His Service,

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