Vol. 20 No. 32 | August 6, 2018
“I hope to do better.”
I wonder how many times I’ve said that phrase?
…when explaining that I’m having difficulty with a new responsibility, after failing to keep a promise to a friend, or admitting I’ve not completed a task I’d committed to doing.
“I hope to do better.”
I wonder how many times I’ve said that to the Lord?
…when confessing I’ve not been the person I want to be, when I’ve not kept promises I’ve made to Him, or when I’ve committed the same sin again.
…when frustrated with and disappointed in my lack of consistency in reading the Word, praying for people, showing kindness and love, being gentle, and spending time alone with Him.
“I hope to do better.”
I wonder how many times the Lord has heard this from all of us?
A couple of stories come to mind that demonstrate how we all struggle with the desire to do better…to be better.
The first takes place in the temple.
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-13, NIV)
The second takes place in the courtyard near the temple.
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin. (John 10:1-14, NIV)
The way the Lord praises the Pharisee’s confession, I believe He is saying, “I know you want to do better. I believe you. And, I love
Jesus’s response to the condemned woman seems to be saying, “I know you want to do better. I believe you. And, I love you.”
Usually, when I say, I hope to do better, the words are accompanied with feelings of remorse, regret, and guilt. But when I read the two stories above, I’m reminded that I can do better. I am encouraged by the realization that the Lord believes I want to do better and that I can. He offers His help and reminds me of His undying love for me.
So now, when I say I hope to do better, I say it with confidence that I will do better.
Thank You, Lord, for all the opportunities You hear my confessions and remind me that You love me, and that with Your love and guidance, I will do better.
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