Hebrews 12:2, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Christian life is often described as a walk, a careful navigation of the path set before us. It’s a useful analogy. For those of you who have ever veered off the road and driven your car into a ditch, it’s an experience not soon forgotten. Ditches by design are formidably deep and landing in one can be a dangerous proposition. Same goes spiritually.

The path metaphor, while its applicability is broad, is perhaps most salient when it comes to a particular aspect of the Christian life: processing one’s own sin. Keeping good footing is paramount for the ditches on either side of the road are treacherous though for different reasons.  

To the ditch on the right are the deflectors. They are marked by an exaggerated sense of holiness. Criticism, whether justified or not, ricochets off them. They don’t need God’s grace because there is nothing from which to be redeemed. Deflectors see transgressions as relative for they view their own sin as far less egregious than others. They are preoccupied with the flawed past of others causing such sin to take on a life of its own and become something it never was. Anger and condemnation fill the reflector’s thoughts as their identity is intricately tied to what they perceive as a huge gap between their own upstanding righteousness and that of compromised others. They know they are in a ditch but think the only way to climb out is to intensify the pursuit of the less virtuous. This is what allows them to assuage the past. They bury their own sin by burying others with theirs, only to land deeper in the ditch’s muck.

To the ditch on the left are the embracers. They are marked by an exaggerated sense of unworthiness. Criticism, whether justified or not, is fully embraced. They don’t receive God’s grace because they feel unredeemable. Embracers see transgressions as relative for they view their own sin as far more egregious than others. They are preoccupied with this flawed past causing them to seek forgiveness for the same sin over and over. Shame and guilt fill the embracer’s thoughts as their identity is intricately tied to how others frame such failures and what they perceive as a huge gap between their own compromised righteousness and that of the truly righteous. They know they are in a ditch but think the only way to climb out is to absorb the guilt. This is what allows them to assuage the past. They bury their own sin by burying themselves, only to land deeper in the ditch’s muck.   

Ditch living is an ugly place to be. Playing god usually is. And that is exactly what both groups are doing. They have taken their eyes off the Lord and in the process anointed themselves judge and jury. They are so mired in condemnation (whether of others or themselves) that they are blind to one simple fact: not ten feet from them is Jesus standing on the road with His arms fully extended. If these pained souls would just look up, they would see the tenderness that marks the Savior’s face. They would be reminded of their unequivocal need for Him and His unequivocal desire of them. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, ESV). They would taste once again true grace, an unmerited favor that wipes clean the past including all the shame and anger. “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,  so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west,  so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12, ESV). There would be no doubt that they are in fact the Lord’s treasured possession. “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6, ESV).

All Jesus asks is that you trust Him and hand over the confusion. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV).

Blood-bought believer, I know you know all of this. There are times, however, where we all need a gentle reminder to let go and let the Lord serve us. To one degree or another, we are all deflectors and embracers. That’s okay; it’s part of our story. But if you are stuck right now, you can change how the next chapter of your life reads. Regardless of which ditch you are in, I ask that you look up and fix your eyes upon King Jesus. He will meet you where you are and unleash a flood of tender grace. The Savior will free you from the muck and gently help you back onto the road. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, ESV).

Look up and be free.