We spend so much of our lives striving, pushing, and churning. We consume to satisfy our hunger, seek comfort to quiet our restlessness, and grasp for control to keep the world from slipping through our fingers.
But what if, beneath all that striving, there’s a quieter question waiting for us?
Is there anything we need to confess?
This Sunday, we turned to St. Augustine’s Confessions and Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:9–14 to explore the ancient practice of confession. Jesus gives us two people praying in the temple: one rehearsing all the reasons he measures up, the other standing before God with empty hands and a simple plea: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
One is busy proving himself. The other is finally free to tell the truth.
Confession isn’t about wallowing in our failures or trying to earn our way back to God. It’s about letting go of the exhausting work of pretending—and discovering that God’s mercy meets us right where we are.
We want to become the kind of saints who can stop striving, tell the truth, and trust ourselves to the mercy of God.
Luke 18:9-14 · Dr. John Perrine · 37 min
