Brennan Manning who is one of my favorite authors describes it like this. He is a recovering alcoholic and he said, no matter how long I am sober, no matter what I do I will always be a recovering alcoholic. I will always lay that card down on the table, my past does not change. He says, when we become Christians, we lay the sin card down, we say, we are sinners in need of a Savior. Then we spend the rest of our Christian lives trying to hide that card. Not wanting anyone to see the real me, not wanting anyone to see the sin I live in, the addictions I fight, the pain I carry, the burdens I can’t let go.