I don’t know your sins. I don’t know how much you’ve strayed. But I do know about our God.
My guess is that you’ve messed up pretty badly at one point or another. I have, too. I know the guilt and the shame that comes with letting others down (and the hurt that comes with letting ourselves down).
No matter how we paint it, we have fallen short of God’s glory. Our mistakes have caused unfathomable pain for those we love the most. Maybe those in our inner circle haven’t forgiven us. Maybe our mess has left us standing alone with seemingly no one to turn to.
And there are those moments when we feel like it just can’t get any worse. Rock bottom is a horrible place to be.
But whatever you’ve done – God still loves you.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is a God of second chances. He’s a God of infinite chances, in fact!
If you’ve cheated or stolen…if you’ve lied or misled…if you’ve ran away, cursing His name and all He created…He can and will forgive you.
The world, as we comprehend it, is not the way that Jesus works. In the book of Matthew, Peter approaches Jesus and asks him how often we should forgive someone. He says, “up to seven times?”
Now I’m with Peter here. If, after six times, someone still wrongs me…chances are that the seventh time will be the last I forgive them.
But Jesus says, “I tell you, not seven times – but seventy-seven times.” And I don’t think He’s telling us that on the 78th time we don’t have to forgive them, either. All over in scripture we hear Jesus say the phrase, “Go and do likewise.” And so, I think that’s what Jesus is getting at here. God has forgiven us over and over and over again…and that grace doesn’t run out. And that is exactly how we should be living!
You see, God’s kingdom doesn’t operate like the world that we live in. We hold grudges, we are slow to forgive, and we are quick to anger. God isn’t like that.
No matter what you’ve done – He forgives you. No matter how much you’ve betrayed Him – He forgives you. No matter how much wrong you’ve done to the people you love – He forgives you.
You are forgiven. Over and over again, you are forgiven. You have a new life – no matter what you’ve done. You are loved!
Now, go and do likewise.
Erik Hatch
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