Navigating around my overstuffed garden beds is fairly tricky, at best. While Tiny Tim might sing “Tiptoe Through The Tulips,” I actually do it.

Maybe I should have put in more walkways, or fewer plants. When planning the flower beds, it’s impossible to predict perfect soil and weather conditions for every type of plant. To make sure I utilize my available planting space most efficiently, I usually plant more than my beds can hold, in case one or two don’t thrive.

It is no wonder, then, that occasionally I’ll come across a broken stem or some crushed leaves. As I was working around my Angelina sedum, I noticed dozens of broken pieces laying on top of their colorful clumps of reddish gold. This was not done by a stray footstep, but likely by a malicious vandal or a very careless neighbor passing through. Most of the neighbors who visit my yard — children mainly — are pretty careful. They are invariably rewarded by being encouraged to pick a bouquet or two. They could not possibly be the culprits…I hope.

This newly discovered horticultural injury points up a problem that we humans have when it comes to sin and missteps. While I anticipate a few wayward feet in the jungle-like undergrowth of my garden beds, I do not expect wanton destruction of my pretty plants.

We often choose our words about our own foibles to cover up the fact that most of our “missteps” are actually deliberate disobedience to our heavenly Father. We like to use words such as “stumble” when we talk about our failure to follow what we know to be right. We avoid using the word “sin,” because it is so much easier to pretend that our misdeeds just happen accidentally.

Is it really “stumbling” when we take an alcoholic drink, not knowing if it will lead to yet another binge? Is it a “mistake” to view pornography, as if the mouse just clicked there on its own? Was it a “mis-step” to step into that co-worker’s cubicle with an invitation to lunch and…maybe something more? No.

Some sins do happen by accident, but let’s be really honest — the most glaring of them are done on purpose. We have to be willing to step in the wrong place, to tromp clumsily ahead following our own desires while we close our eyes to the damage being done.

David probably did not plan on committing adultery with Bathsheba before he saw her bathing on the roof next door. He didn’t — for the fun of it — plan on killing a loyal soldier, until he looked for a way to hide his other sin. This doesn’t mean he “stumbled” or “made a mistake.” He flat-out sinned. His own words confess this.

“There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”
(Psalm 38:3-4)

God is a great God and has provided a way out of sin! David turned away from his sins, but he had to admit to them first.

“Against You, You only, have I made a mistake” (said nobody, ever).

“Against You, You only, have I sinned
And done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4).

Jesus came to die as a sacrifice for sin, not as a sacrifice for mistakes. He is the Savior of the world, not saving us from stumbling, but saving us from sin and its consequences.

–by Christine Berglund