Failure. It's a part of being a human. We sin; whether it's by lying, stealing, lusting, disobedience, sexuality, or gossiping - we all experience these sins. Chapter 3 in Genesis explains "the fall" of humans clearer, after describing God's design for His perfect world. Somethings most Christian's struggle with are 1.) admitting their sins, 2.) accepting other's sins, and 3.) having complete faith that their sin is forgiven.
Admitting your sin. Something that is so easy to think about doing, until it's time to talk about it. Humans are born into sin - so it should be pretty normal to talk about, but that's so much easier said than done. Admitting you have a problem controlling your desires to your pastor, sister in Christ, or even God takes courage. I'm not saying you need to post on Facebook every time you lie to your roommate. However, when you try to hide your sin from others, or even from God, it creates shameful thoughts in your head. This is normal, too. Whenever God created Adam and Eve, they were naked - because there was no shame. The moment Eve ate from the tree of good and evil, she was aware that she was naked,and was ashamed of herself. Sin goes hand in hand with shame, so admitting your sins can be hard, but it's well worth it in the end. It doesn't matter how much you're "not a people person," in God's eyes. If you're not able to recognize your sin, and share with others that you are a sinner, then your idea of following Christ is lost.
Accepting other's sins. Ha, something that Christians are the first to be stereotyped as in our society is: "judgmental." Don't get me wrong, there are Christians in this world who judge other people out of hate and disgust, and do "live up" to this stereotype so to say. It's not our job to judge people who do not claim to be followers of Christ, but to just love them. We must love everyone - believers or not, just as we are called to love ourselves, and love our God. This ties into how hard it is to admit our sins. Do you think God is sitting in Heaven, waiting for us to mess up, so He can prove to us how much we suck? No. God knows we sin, He knows when we are going to sin, and when we are going to ask forgiveness from those sins. (God is all-knowing, if you have forgotten.) He's here with us to teach us, to love us, and to accept us as His children. We are simply his children, in need of His forgiveness and love! In response, this is how we must treat each other! With pure, raw, forgiveness and love. Now, when we see a believer in Christ actively sinning against God, it should be through love that we strive to judge them. Maybe "judge" isn't the correct term to use here, since society has given it such negative characteristics. However, when we see our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ falling short, it is, biblically, our duty to make them aware of their sin, and to help them - through the power of Jesus Christ, overcome their battle with the enemy.
Having complete faith that your sin is forgiven. Oh, this something that I have to remind myself daily of. God will ultimately forgive every. single. one. of your sins, if you simply ask Him. One prayer, one act of true faith and repentance of this sin, and your God will grant this forgiveness. No sin is too small or too large for God to remove from your heart - but you must have faith that He will heal your brokenness. Something I am often asked is, "am I too broken for God to still forgive me?" and the answer is always no. He loves you through every trial. Through every good time, bad time, struggle, heartache, and celebration. He sent His Son as the ultimate sacrifice for you and I. There is nothing stronger than that of Jesus' blood, so there is no need to worry about being "too broken" for God's grace.
Ultimately, there is no greater love than that of our God. We will sin, we will sin again, and we will sin one more time after that. As believers in Christ, Jesus, we are forgiven because we were washed with His blood. It is now our job to live a life as Christ would; loving others, serving others, making disciples, being missionaries, and spreading the Gospel of Jesus is every single aspect of our life. We are called to surrender our ALL to Christ. Let's change the way Christians are perceived by our actions and our thoughts. Change how you are when you're alone with God - results will follow.
