NOTE: I will have limited access to internet for the next two weeks. Be assured, however, that even if I don’t post here I am keeping up the 49 Week Bible Challenge. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. I am using the YouVersion 49 Week Bible Challenge for these devotions. Today’s readings are Matthew 16; 2 Chronicles 6; Psalm 42.
2 Chronicles 6:36-42
“If [your people] sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near, 37 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 38 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity to which they were carried captive, and pray toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 39 then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you. 40 Now, O my God, let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.
41 “And now arise, O Lord God, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
and let your saints rejoice in your goodness.
42 O Lord God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one!
Remember your steadfast love for David your servant.”
I wrote the other day about the incredible impact of a sermon I heard based on Jesus’ promise that he would never turn away anyone who comes to him. I recall, also, an impactful message based on Isaiah 43:4, “You are precious in my sight, and I love you.” Such good news. Those direct promises are powerfully important. And there is such a promise in the reading from 2 Chronicles 6. (More about that later.)
But sometimes an offhand comment, or a clause in a sentence can convey a powerful truth. It can even be more impactful than a direct message. In this case the subordinate clause in 2 Chronicles 6:36, “for there is no one who does not sin,” carries a weight beyond its few words. There are other places in the Bible which speak of man’s sinfulness. I think of Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Or 1 John 1:8, “If we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” I also recall this from Romans 3:10 “there is no one righteous; not even one,” which is a summary of Psalm 14:1–3 and Psalm 53:1–3. It’s clear that everyone sins. There are no exceptions.
Why then, does this clause impact me so? Because it’s stated as a fact that less than an accusation. It’s not as though Solomon is pointing to people accusingly: “You sinners!” Sinners we are. But here Solomon says something profoundly true and important. But he says it not to us, but to God. He is speaking to God about listening to the prayers of his people, and forgiving those who call him in repentance.
Many years ago, a family had been ripped apart by divorce, and the 10 year old son was particularly wounded. In some ways his response was more healthy than someone who denies the pain and pretends nothing is wrong. He was hurting horribly. When his mom took him and his sister to a divorce recovery gathering, he was greatly relieved to learn that he wasn’t alone in his pain.
When you sin, or your conscience bothers you, remember, “there is no one who does not sin.” And in repentant faith (not in a self-justifying everyone-sins-spirit), turn to God with the confidence that whoever confesses his sin finds mercy, grace, and forgiveness. For “there is no one who does not sin” is truly only half the story. The other half of the story is Jesus on the cross – the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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