This year I want to dare to be a sinner.
(Resolution #3)

I snookered this from JOLLYBLOGGER who stole it
himself from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life
Together. The last chapter begins thus:

"Confess your faults one to another" (Jas. 5:16).
He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone.
It may be that Christians, notwithstanding
corporate worship, common prayer, and all their
fellowship in service, may still be left to their
loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship
does not occur, because, though they have fellowship
with one another as believers and devout people,
they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as
sinners. This pious fellowship permits no one to
be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from
himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners.
Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real
sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous.
So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies
and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!

But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard
for the pious to understand, that it confronts us
with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great,
desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you
are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are;
He does not what anything from you, a sacrifice, a
work; He wants you alone. "My son, give me thine
heart" (Prov. 23:26). God has come to you to save
the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation
through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The
mask you wear before men will do you no good before
Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be
gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to
yourself and your brothers, as if you were without
sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that;
He loves the sinner but He hates sin.

Cap-tip to Jollyblogger