We humans are really good at excuses. We’ve had lots of practice since Adam and Eve started the ball rolling by first blaming each other, then the serpent, and finally even blaming God for their rebellion against their Creator. Give us enough time and we can justify or rationalize away just about anything we do, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Let me give you a true-life example.

A number of years ago, our family went white water rafting down the New River in West Virginia. At one point on the trip our guide (let’s call her “Heather”) was alone in the raft with me while my wife and our two daughters were swimming in a calm stretch of the river. Heather did what people often seem to feel compelled to do when confronted with a pastor: she launched into a half-confess…