Could you use sympathy instead of condemnation
Can you imagine what it would be like to go to Jesus after you failed miserably and fell into sin and He NOT sympathize with your weaknesses? What if He was unrelenting and unforgiving? But that is not who our sweet Lord Jesus Christ is. Although He is God the Son and our HIGH PRIEST, He is sympathetic with our weaknesses. Here’s how Hebrews 4:15-16 describes Jesus. “We do not have a HIGH PRIEST who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” That’s incredibly good news, but we’re not to stop there. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” In other words, when we sin we’re not supposed to keep sinning. We’re not to hang our heads and avoid Jesus because we’re ashamed. Rather, we’re to humbly go to Him in prayer and confess, “I messed up big time. I sinned! I gave into this temptation…again. Please forgive me and strengthen me to stand against this weakness in my life.” Jesus extends grace to us when we repent, but He also admonishes us, “Go and sin no more.” Why? Because He loves us and doesn’t want us living in sin but rather in holiness. If we’ve been avoiding Jesus because of our sin, today is the day to draw near to our sympathetic HIGH PRIEST.
We praise You, our Lord and High Priest, that although You are high and lifted up, you sympathize with our weaknesses and forgive us when we repent. Help us stand against rather than give into sin.