Following a summer storm, a mischievous little boy raced outside and proceeded to splash the water out of every mudhole he could find. By the time he was finished, the mudholes were all dry and he was covered in mud from head to toe. Then he went back inside the house. He had taken just a few steps inside the back door when his father intercepted him and said, “Stop right where you are, take off those dirty shoes and clothes, and go take a bath.” The boy tried to protest but the father was having none of it. All discussion was ended when the father said, “Son, you are welcome in this house but your mud isn’t.”

I’ve been a pastor for many years now, and I’ve met a lot of people who would willingly admit their sins and even express shame and regret over them. Sadly, however, the percentage of those people who would actually repent of those sins was relatively small. Like the little boy in that story, a lot of folks want to play in the mud without consequence. Like the father in that story, however, God doesn’t allow that.

You say, “But I’m a Christian and I am eternally forgiven.” Okay, I understand that. Do you understand, though, that sins for which you haven’t confessed and repented will seriously hinder your daily fellowship with God? You see, the relationship will still be there, but there is a difference between having an eternal relationship with God and being in daily fellowship with Him.

And so, Christian, I ask you, “Do you have any mud on you right now?” If your answer is “Yes,” consider this post as God’s call for you to repent. Of course, unlike that boy in our story, you can’t be made clean by a bath and a change of clothes. Instead, your forgiveness and cleansing can only be found in Jesus. As 1 John 1:8-9 says:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (N.K.J.V.)

I, for one, am very grateful those words are in the Bible, and I don’t mind admitting that I’ve put them to good use many times in my walk with Christ. Perhaps, Christian, that’s what you need to do as soon as you finish reading this. I’m not trying to put you on a guilt trip over things you haven’t done, but I don’t believe the Lord would have led me to write on this topic unless someone needed it. So, if that someone is you, stop what you are doing and employ 1 John 1:8-9. And remember that even though John doesn’t specifically mention the word “repent” in those verses, as the old saying goes, “Confession without repentance isn’t much more than bragging.”