Forgiveness
Its safe to say I’m a horrible person. I’m a liar, a cheat, a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, an idolater, and by all human standards a lost cause.
And it is because of all of these things, that I stand in awe of God.
He forgives me, and forgets all of my low-down, disgusting, and shameful sins.
Oh, but thats not all!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
So not only will God forgive me; He will also put forth the effort to “cleanse [me] of all unrighteousness”. Only in the twisted, deranged mind of man can this seem like a bad thing- something we have to question and be unsure about.
Exhibit A- I fall into sexual sin.
I don’t much feel like talking to God at this point. Not because He’s not worth my time or anything- I just don’t feel worthy. You know the feeling. Only, the realization hits me, I’m never worthy of His forgiveness. I digress though; the problem still remains: How do I get over my ego and pride and come to God in humbleness to ask for forgiveness?
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Now, I would just like to point out: that verse would be significantly different if I was God (so, thank God I’m not). It might go a little bit like this:
“Let us therefore come in fear and trembling to the throne of…”
I think the least God would want is a bit of fear…you know, what with us breaking commandments and whatnot. But no, He asks nothing of us, except the obedience to confess our sins to him.
I encourage you, reader, to think about anything you need forgiveness for, and ask God, our Father for His grace and righteousness. I’m not a huge fan of the more Christianese words (like mentioning grace arbitrarily), but I assure you- no other words cross my mind right now to describe what God does for us, except words found in His word.
Go God.
