Whenever someone accuses us of doing wrong, it’s easy to get defensive. We make excuses. “I’m not that bad.” We try and balance the scales. “OK, that was wrong. But look at all the good I do!” We play the comparison game. “At least I’m not like him!” With our defenses up, repentance is impossible.

God, however, has a strategy for lowering our defenses. He assures us that his door is open, and that his home is the place we don’t need to pretend to be something that we’re not--perfect. Our Father does not ask us to come to him and confess our sin so that he might know what we’ve done. He already knows. He asks us to repent so that we might fully know what we’ve done. Only when we grasp the true weight of our sin will we call out to God for mercy. When we do, God is always quick to forgive.