Gary and I went to a Pastors’ Retreat at The Cove in North Carolina last week. We had a wonderful time meeting other pastors and their spouses, listening to the inspiring speaker, and enjoying delicious meals.
After some free time on Tuesday afternoon, we got in line for supper.
We visited with the others at our table, including one couple we had eaten with on Monday evening. Afterward, we figured we had a little time before the next session started, so we went to the basement bookstore for a while. Neither of us had our phones with us, so we asked a man in the hallway for the time. He held out his phone and we saw that it was 6:07.
We walked away. Oh good, we thought, we have over an hour before the session. But then we said, no that can’t be right. Our supper time was at 6:05. His phone must be an hour off (we were further confused because he had said that his watch was an hour off before he showed us his phone). Poor guy, we thought. He has no idea what time it is.
We went upstairs, but no one was heading into the auditorium for the session. We walked across the lobby and then we saw people in line for supper. And it suddenly dawned on us: we had eaten at the wrong time!
It really was 6:07 and we had eaten at 5:00 instead of waiting until our assigned time of 6:05. A black dot on each of our name tags marked us as “second group” eaters. Oops!
Such a little thing, but my mind spun as I tried to figure out how that had happened and dealt with the guilt of my sin.
We got on the shuttle and went back to our room to hide in shame (just kidding, but it did take a little work for me to let it go).
Why didn’t the cafeteria staff person point out our black dot and ask us to wait til our correct time to eat?
Why didn’t our tablemates notice? The couple from Monday night must have eaten at the wrong time, too! Was it on purpose, or accidentally, like us? (The next morning we saw that their name tags had no black dots, so they must have eaten late on Monday night)
I started pondering some comparisons between our mistake and the problem of sin.
We were completely oblivious to our mistake. Could it be that some people are completely oblivious to the sins they’re committing? They think they’re doing the right thing so they have no reason to feel any shame or guilt?
Sometimes people don’t believe the truth when they hear it, like we did with the man who told us it was 6:07. He can’t be right, we reasoned. But he was.
People may be very willing to change if they are just made aware of their sin. If someone had pointed out our black dots when we were in line, we would have quickly gotten out and waited until it was the right time to eat.
Rules are there for a reason. The name tags with and without black dots divided our group in half so we all fit in the dining room. It was a good policy. Too bad we didn’t follow it. And while our infraction didn’t hurt anyone, there are many sins people commit that do damage relationships, property, and our relationship with God.
People need to be more willing to point out sin, gently and with love. I’m glad the staff didn’t point at us and yell: BLACK DOTS! BLACK DOTS! But if they had lowered their voice and reminded us of our eating time we would have gladly complied. Can we figure out how to do that with the people in our lives?
On this Friday, this Good Friday of Holy Week, how wonderful that we can focus on Jesus’ death on the cross. His sacrifice covered all of the black dots of sin in our lives.
And when the time is right, we’ll join him for that incredible feast in heaven.
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV)
Do you believe that Jesus’ death on the cross takes away all of your guilt and shame? How can focusing on God help you to notice any “black dots” of sin in your life and confess them so you can be forgiven, completely and forever?