Forgive
Posted by:
Bible Blogger on
October 30, 2007 at
12:59AM EST
I was thinking about forgiveness today and how so many people allow
themselves to buy into the lies of the enemy that you can be too far
gone for God to forgive you. I've met many people over the years who
think their sins...and they've run the gamut...are too much for even
God to forgive. It's especially hard when someone had been a
professing believer and active for the Kingdom and then fell away
because of some incident, addiction or struggle.
It's understandable when someone feels that way because we as humans
tend to think there are something that are unforgivable. It can be
something considered horrible by many like a rape or murder down to
someone cheating on a spouse or stealing tools from someone else's
garage. Eventually there's something out there that you think you just
can't forgive.
Yet, look at the example God gives to us in Christ:
"Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will
my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as
seven times?" Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." - Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV)
Now, someone could get picky and count to 491 and say "that's it" but
the point Jesus is making is that forgiveness is a process that we are
not to end. Jesus himself is the example of it! If Jesus himself
forgives us every time we sin and repent of our sin then there's no way
we can not forgive others.
The best part? He always forgives us if we repent AND He rejoices when we repent!
"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." - Luke 15:7 (ESV)
So the next time you feel the weight of the world on you and feel like
there's nowhere to go because of your sins remember that Jesus set the
example and that example is forgiveness for the repentant every time.
