Audio： Accept Yourself for What You Are

God lives and works today, but often we don't experience his action in our lives because we're too self-righteous, we're too busy trying to be right. Today's meditation by Basilia Schlink takes a new look at what it means to be right with God. It's truly a miracle when someone weeps tears of sorrow for his life and lives continuously in a state of repentance. Self-righteousness, claiming one's innocence, and in doing so often blaming God, is an inheritance from Adam and is found in all of us. Some of the worst criminals have this urge to exonerate themselves. They claim innocence in the face of the most heinous crimes. Prison chaplains write that there's no place like a prison to find so many self-righteous people who claim they are imprisoned unjustly. However the same holds true for the most pious churchgoers. We human beings simply want to always be right. We see no need to change, no need to repent. We excuse ourselves and refuse to admit our guilt. In defending ourselves, we often become angry and abusive to others. We think it's perfectly right to react in this way because everyone else has been so disrespectful and has mistreated us. It doesn't matter that we've been furious and abusive. Our feelings were hurt. Is it our fault if we're so sensitive and easily upset? Or perhaps we've been misunderstood and mistreated in our marriage. Or we're filled with bitterness, envy, and hatred because of our failure in life. How can we be different when God has made us the way we are? We can go on and on with our list, unaware that in the end we're blaming God. In defending ourselves, we refuse Jesus Christ's admittance to our life. He, the Savior and bringer of happiness, wants to make our life joyful, full of peace and full of light. But instead, we blame Him for giving us our bad dispositions, our unstable nerves, or our lack of ability. We blame Him when we have to suffer for our anger and bitterness, our little lies, or adultery even. We make Jesus the guilty one, blaming Him rather than ourselves. By so remaining in our self-righteousness, we hurt Jesus. In truth, we're joining the ranks of the accusers, the Pharisees who condemned Him to death. We're blaming Jesus who died for our sins, who is Savior, Comforter, and the source of all joy. Jesus is the Savior, but only for those who want to be saved. Who will come to Him is sick, needy, miserable sinners. Today Jesus is calling us to repent. He's waiting in His boundless love for those who will bow themselves under their sins, for those who will say, Yes, I have sinned, I'm guilty, please forgive me. He's waiting for us to respond in this way, so that He can help us and remake us into His likeness. Will you come to Him today with all your sins? He's waiting for you. O make me Thine, my Savior, Lord most holy, that I may only live to give Thee glory. O make me Thine. God bless you.