God Who Forgives You
Wait, You Did “What?”
One of the things I love to do is reminisce with an old friend.
It’s fun to look back at the good old days and laugh our heads off, especially when it comes to talking about our former hairstyles.
What in the world were we thinking? 🙂
Case in point: Awhile ago, I got in touch with one of the news directors I used to work with.
We had a blast talking about some old memories, including a fashion faux pas committed by – you guessed it – me.
You did what?
I hate to admit this, but I once showed up at a morning reporter’s meeting wearing a braid in my hair, with a bead attached no less.
Not exactly, but kind of like this. ↓
Pretty fashionable, right?
After all, many women at the time were copying the “Bo Derek” look.
The News Director?
Well, let’s just say he said to “forget” the braid next time!!
That still makes me laugh.
Our Compassionate God Who Forgives You
Do you know what?
There is no “You did what?” with God.
He is never surprised.
As a Christian, we know from our Bible reading that there are a lot more serious mistakes we can make in life that actually equate to a sin in God’s eyes.
We’re not talking about a simple fashion faux pas here, it’s serious business.
Sin is the result of Man’s fall and we’ve been continuing on in our sin-nature ever since.
Look at our world today. So much evil has been unleashed that you wonder why God thinks us worthy of His love and grace at all.
Sadly, the popular culture is rampant with its hatred and condemnation of anything having to do with family values, strong male role models, God’s creation of men and women, working hard to earn a paycheck, and standing up for one’s faith in God.
We must face the fact that all of us are wretched sinners in need of a Savior.
We should always pray for lost people who deny the existence of God and salvation through His Son.
But in the meantime . . . aren’t we glad that, even though we continue to sin in God’s eyes, He’ll wipe away the sins of our repentant hearts.
There’s Peace in Forgiveness
He is the only God and the One who forgives you.
When God forgives he forgets. What is the ground and reason of the pardon. It is not for the sake of anything in us, but for his own sake, for his mercies’-sake, his promise-sake, and especially for his Son’s sake, and that he may himself be glorified in it. How God glories in it: I, even I, am he. He glories in it as his prerogative. None can forgive sin but God only, and he will do it; it is his settled resolution. He will do it willingly and with delight; it is his pleasure; it is his honour; so he is pleased to reckon it. – Matthew Henry, Christian minister and author.
That is good news! Despite our sin nature, God offers us a way out of Hell and that is only through His Son.
25 I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. – Isaiah 43:25, (NASB).
Our Only Mediator is Jesus
In the book of Isaiah, the prophet reminds us that God longs for the redemption of His children – all of us, not just His people back in the day.
Terrible things are happening in our present world – murder, incest, harming children in so many ways – and yet, forgiveness is offered to the ones who are truly sorry for committing those sins. God knows the difference between real repentance, and a person who will say anything to avoid punishment, eternal or otherwise.
We must never forget that the murderous Saul eventually became the apostle Paul when he met the saving grace of our Lord.
There’s a lesson in this . . .
No matter what you have done, whatever your “transgressions” are – God will forgive you and not remember your sins – if you confess them in your heart.
Jesus Christ is the only mediator we will ever need.
We can take comfort in this – He is praying for all of us who belong to Him.
25Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. – Hebrews 7:25, (NASB).
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* Matthew Henry quotation, “Complete Commentary on Isaiah 43”. [1706.] Courtesy of Studylight.org., https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/isaiah-43.html., n.d. para. 33. Web. Accessed 2 July, 2021.
* All Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
