06/03/2025
There are too many times in my life when I’ve done something wrong but took the cowardly route of blaming others or circumstances rather than face my own guilt. Maybe you have too.
In Dostoyevsky’s classic novel, Crime and Punishment, the lead character, Raskolnikov, kills a woman who was a cruel and oppressive pawnbroker. The novel follows his tortured path of quasi-guilt, justification, lies, and terror of being found out. Overwhelmed, he eventually turns himself in and is exiled to Siberia.
But none of his actions are true reflections of contrition. He continues to conjure excuses: the old lady deserved it; he was poor; he was unique, and normal rules didn’t apply. Dostoyevsky writes, “Oh, how happy he would have been if he could have blamed himself! He could have borne anything then, even shame and disgrace…. If only fate would have sent him repentance—burning repentance that would have torn his heart and robbed him of sleep” (547).
Finally, years later, he dared to be guilty. “How it happened he did not know. But all at once something seemed to seize him…. [His sick pale face was] bright with the dawn of a new future, of a full resurrection into a new life” (552-553).
John Ortberg summarizes this scene when he writes, “Only when Raskolnikov dared to be guilty could he dare to be forgiven” (Steps, 221). True contrition humbled him; God’s grace and love lifted him. As the old hymn goes, “Love lifted me. Love lifted me. When nothing else could help, love lifted me.”
The path to freedom runs through the station of contrition. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise,” writes David (Psalm 51:17). Unconfessed sin blocks the flow of grace. God’s grace is all-powerful, but it is an invitation, not a dictatorial infusion. We release our sin in true confession and receive God’s grace in humble contrition. And then our sick, pale faces become bright with the dawn of a new future, of a full resurrection in a new life.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
I challenge you today: dare to be guilty. When you become aware that you said or did something wrong, don’t look for an excuse. Don’t resist. Don’t defend. Dare to be guilty and release your sin to the grace of God, and then, and only then, will you encounter the love of Jesus lifting you when nothing else could help. Then, and only then, will your face become bright with the dawn of a new future, of a full resurrection in a new life. Amen.
