I read a story about an artist who was commissioned to paint a mural showing the life of Christ in a Sicilian cathedral. He used a twelve-year-old boy with an innocent face as a model for Jesus. Years went by as he worked on the mural until the last figure to complete was Judas Iscariot.

One day the artist was sitting in a tavern when a man staggered in whose face showed the evidence of years of alcohol abuse. The artist chose him as his model for Judas and led him to the cathedral where he asked him to pose as Judas. The man broke into sobs and asked if the artist remembered him. He pointed to the Christ child and said, “Many years ago I was your model for Him.”

How do we make this fall from model of Jesus to model of Judas, the betrayer of Christ? There are many ways we can allow sin to worm its way into our hearts and lives, turning us from the only one who can offer the forgiveness we need.

It may start with a simple prayer uttered in faith that you are confident God will answer. But then you’re devastated when He doesn’t answer the way you expected, and now disappointment leads to disenchantment and bitterness towards God. Before you know it, you’re convinced that God doesn’t care about you, is undependable, and you’d be better off taking care of yourself rather than relying on Him.

Or maybe you’re growing in your faith and walk with God, learning from another believer whom you admire and aspire to model your life after. Then the unthinkable happens – they do or say something that really hurts or offends you, and your perfect picture of what a follower of Christ looks like is shattered. Your hurt consumes you and you cannot bring yourself to forgive. Before long a root of bitterness turns your heart to stone.

Maybe your life hasn’t gone the way you’d planned, and you find yourself stuck in a rut you didn’t choose. You’ve prayed and waited many years for God to change things, but it’s only gotten worse. Your discouragement grows into constant grumbling and complaining, negativity, despair and depression. Any spark of hope has been extinguished until you see no point in even talking to God again.

Perhaps you’ve suffered the pain of rejection in the past and are learning to receive love and acceptance from God. However, you still nurture the fear of being rejected again, and resort to people pleasing. But you’re trying to please the wrong people who entice you into sin. Just once won’t hurt you. Don’t you want to fit in with the crowd? And one day you wake up and wonder how you got to this place of modeling the betrayer.

Sin comes in many forms, creeping in slowly and silently until you’re ensnared and trapped. As sin gets more of a hold in your heart, you begin to open the door whenever it knocks. The day comes when you look more like the betrayer of God than a model of Jesus.

All may look hopeless and lost when you realize how far you’ve fallen, but there is always hope. It’s never too late to acknowledge your sin, weep in sorrow and cry out to the Lord in repentance. God always offers mercy and grace to forgive us and turn us back to Him.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 845-482-5300.