ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Monite Fepueli 2, 2026

LEVITIKO 5-7; 1 SIONE 1:5-10

Sin leaves each of us guilty. The question is, What will we do with our guilt?

‘Oku ‘omi ‘e he angahala ‘a e ongo’i halaia ki he tokotaha kotoa. Ko e fehu’i leva, Ko e ha ‘etau me’a ‘e fai fekau’aki mo e ongo’i halaia ko ia?

My son had taken something that wasn't his. I watched him do it, even though he didn't know he was being watched. I called him over. He diverted his eyes as he walked toward me. His head-down walk was a picture of guilt. He knew that what he had done was wrong. He knew now that I had seen him. He knew he was in trouble, but, when I asked him if he had done what I saw him do, he denied it. I was an eyewitness, yet he would not admit his guilt.

My son, whom I love with all my heart, is not alone in his response. Since we are all sinners, we all stand guilty before God. We all deal with our guilt somehow, someway. Some of us live in denial, telling ourselves again and again that we are righteous. This is an exercise in self-atonement. Some of us deal with our guilt by comparing ourselves to others, concluding that we are not so bad after all. Some of us are good at minimizing our sin, working to make what we have done seem less than sinful. Some of us are skilled at pointing the finger and shifting the blame to someone or something other than ourselves. Some of us wallow in self-despising guilt, allowing shame to depress and isolate us. Some of us try to deal with our guilt by committing to a regimen of self-reformation, determining to set high, perfectionistic standards for ourselves.

All of these reactions to guilt are burdensome, dysfunctional, and disappointing. They simply never work. They turn us into either proud legalists or fearful depressives, but they never produce good fruit in us or in our relationships with others. Since we are all born guilty, our guilt can't be denied or wished away. Our guilt must be confessed; it must be borne; and it must be removed, so that we can live in the light and without shame. This is why the institution of the guilt offering is both an essential gift and a great relief (Lev. 5-7). God declares that he has made a way for our guilt to be dealt with so that we don't have to get up every morning and put that huge, heavy backpack of guilt on our shoulders once again. The guilt offering tells us where the redemptive story is going. Embedded in every animal guilt offering is the promise that there will be a final Lamb of sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7). He will carry the full range of our guilt and shame.

Although perfectly spotless in every way, Jesus will take the heavy load of our guilt on himself. He will remove our guilt so that we can stand before God righteous and without fear or shame. Since guilt is inescapable, the guilt offering is essential. Jesus is our guilt offering, so we deny our patterns of denial and confess to our guilt, knowing we will receive mercy and grace when we do. Celebrate today the guilt offering that God has so willingly and graciously made for you. Come out of shame's darkness and live in the light.