“Confession is so difficult a Discipline for us partly because we view the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners. We come to feel that everyone else has advanced so far into holiness that we are isolated and alone in our sin. We could not bear to reveal our failures and shortcomings to others. We imagine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heaven. Therefore we hide ourselves from one another and live in veiled lies and hypocrisy.

But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinner we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God’s love and to confess our need openly before our brothers and sisters together. In acts of mutual confession we release the power that heals. Our humanity is no longer denied but transformed.”

– Richard Foster (ht)

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