Forgiveness is a big, broad word that could take us in many different directions today. We could talk all day long about the need to forgive others–– a very important and monumental task, indeed. But today is the day to get down to the nitty gritty and talk about forgiving OURSELVES. It is a choice for us to make today: to let go of the past and accept the forgiveness that Jesus graciously and mercifully blesses us with.
This is a serious matter to Jesus. Check out this very bold wording in Scripture regarding forgiveness. It is even violent. The cross which Jesus was nailed to and died on was excruciatingly violent. God means business when it comes to the work that Jesus did on the cross for each and every one of us. Will we choose forgivenss or will we choose to stand on the sidelines, watching others live in God’s abundant goodness because we feel we are not worthy of God’s mercy for ourselves?
And when your flesh was still uncircumcised—dead in transgressionand swathed in its sinful nature—it was God who brought us to life with Him, forgave all our sins, and eliminated the massive debt we incurred by the law that stood against us. He took it all away; He nailed it to the cross. But that’s not all. He disarmed those who once ruled over us—those who had overpowered us.Like captives of war, He put them on display to the world to show His victory over them by means of the cross. {Colossians 2:13-15 THE VOICE}
When Jesus nailed sin to the cross, He had your name on His heart. He did not leave YOU out from this amazing act of forgiveness. But oh how the devil wants us to think that the beautiful blood Jesus shed on the cross is not for you. That somehow you are the only one not worthy of the release and guilt of past sin.
We can’t allow the devil that kind of power in our life for we are empowered by the Almighty who canceled our debt of sin. God desires you to live with Him in eternity and to love and serve Him here on this earth. Will you choose forgiveness and disallow the enemy to steal that precious gift? NO! Don’t do it…
Choose to move forward today leaving your guilt behind; learning from past mistakes but not letting them trip you up from basking in the presence of your glorious King.
Choose forgiveness.
Leave a comment…let’s chat!
We must have been on similar wave lengths when you posted this. Just today I was thinking about forgiveness in the Bibical context. It’s easy for some of us (myself included) to say “I forgive you” or “I forgive that person for what they did” or “I have to forgive myself for…”. But most of the time, even if we say that, we probably don’t forget whatever it is we’re “forgiving”. So we can say it and maybe even mean it at the time we say it, but what does it REALLY mean to forgive someone or forgive ourselves?
Sometimes I find myself feeling guilty for something I did in the past. Sometimes I feel myself getting angry at someone for something they did to me in the past, even though I’ve told myself That I forgive that person. So does forgiveness mean that we quit beating ourselves up, quit having those little moments of regret or anger, or is there even more to it beyond that?
Sorry that was drawn out beyond the original topic, but it was just something on my mind and I was curious about other people’s perspective.
I think not forgiving ourselves (and not forgiving others, as hard as it may be sometimes) could almost be a slap in the face to God. It is a sin and all sins are the same, but Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was our greatest example of love and forgiveness from God. So if God sacrificed His one and only son, in the
precise way that He did, just so we could be redeemed…it seems like forgiving ourselves or others should be the easiest virtue for all of us as Christians.