There’s a story about a king who visited a slave ship. He went below to talk to those who were chained to the oars, and he asked one man, “Why are you here?”
“Sire,” he said, “I don’t know why I am here. I was in a crowd when a crime was committed. When they arrested everybody, they got me. I am innocent.”
He asked another who said, “I am not really guilty, but I am a victim of false witnesses who have lied about me.” The king went throughout the ship. Each one of them had some reason why he was innocent and should not be there, until he came to one man.
When the king asked, “Why are you here?” the man replied, “Sire, I am here because I deserve to be here. I have sinned against my God. I have sinned against my king, and now I am paying the penalty for my sin.” When the king heard that, he stepped back and said, “You knave! What are you doing here among so many honest men? Guards, release him and get him out of here!”
Not until we admit our sin are we going to know the mercy and the forgiveness of the king. Romans 4:7-8 says, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
LWF.org