Hester's Shame

     Perhaps one of my favorite required novels to study in high school, was the infamous Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The tale is sordid and a real page turner- drawing in the reader for more. I fell in love with Hester Prynne, even as the fictional community in which she lived, destained her. After the assumed death of her husband, and a moment of vulnerability, she had an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, resulting in her pregnancy, and birth of their daughter, Pearl. At this time in history, it was extremely uncommon for someone to have a child out of wedlock, and so her shame was a real, tangible thing.
     The basis of this novel is that Hester protects the Reverend from being exposed, and bears the sole public shame of her condition. As a result, she is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing, revealing her identity as an adulterer. Reverend Dimmesdale goes on with his life- free from the public humility of what he had done. He isn't exposed. He doesn't carry the burden. Hester does. I remember thinking, as a young teenager of how unfair this was- and it truly was unfair. This is a sin of two- not one, yet she paid the price alone.
     I don't think any of us are walking around with physical letters emblazoned on our chests, spilling the details of our sinful history. For this, I thank God! For if this were required, none of us would be without our own various letter jackets, full of multiple offenses. And yet, we often carry the burden of our past within our very souls. We refuse to release ourselves from the identity of our crimes, even though as Christians, God has erased them. And I think if we look a little deeper, we will see that we carry these burdens, because we often, in like manner, assign past offenses to others.
     Let's think a minute about some people that will give you further insight to what I mean : Michael Vick. Monica Lewinsky. Anthony Weiner. Tonya Harding. Paula Deen. Lindsay Lohan. Tiger Woods. Chris Brown. Lance Armstrong. Charlie Sheen. Now this is a short list, but if your mind went to doping, dog fighting, prejudice, sex scandals or violence, you understand the correlation between how we think of others- often, by the very thing they did wrong. These people may not wear badges displaying their dishonor, but we assign them anyway. Honestly, when I think of how I'm guilty of this, I'm ashamed.
     What unwelcome sins do you carry around from your own past? Do they negatively impact your identity? Do you believe them louder than what God says about you? We have this ugly part of our human tendency to hold onto our shame- and to remember the shame of others. This is not a habit easily tossed aside, and will take consistent effort to abolish from our mindset. The blood of Jesus has freed us from our sins- it washes us whiter than snow! Can I encourage you, dear sister or brother, to refuse to carry around the sins that Jesus already forgave? And can I also encourage you to release others from carrying their past burdens?
     I love how Christ Jesus has given us new life, and a new identity. Even sins we have committed as His children- they are covered by His blood! You are an heir to His heavenly kingdom. We are His sons and daughters. He has released us from the chains and bondage of sin- we are to live as free! Friends- let's eradicate the letters we choose to carry, and embrace His wonderful gift of grace. And let's not stop there- let's shower that same grace on others, refusing to see them as anything less than forgiven. We have kingdom work to do, and we can best do it when we believe we are who God says we are- forgiven!

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (ESV)

Dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for your gracious gift of forgiveness. You are so loving and kind, and we thank You for Your grace. And yet, Father, we often hold onto our sin- assigning it to our identity. Help us to abandon this unhealthy spiritual habit, and to fully embrace our identity as Your children- free and forgiven! In Your name, we pray, Amen!