Be Forgiven

I meant a while back to complete a brief series on forgiveness, and while I have thought much on that, I never put pen to paper, so to speak.  Truth be told, a couple specific situations had arisen that challenged me on whether or not true forgiveness had really taken place.  In reality, if I had continued writing, I probably would have allowed some frustration to come out, and so it seemed best to let it rest for a bit.

Having said that, I will simply conclude this topic by a simple explanation of being forgiven.  It is one thing to forgive, and that in itself is not easy.  But then when you are forgiven, how does that change or shape your behavior?

If I am forgiven of some wrongdoing, guess what!  At some point I had to have admitted that I was wrong.  If you remember the Fonz, he could never quite get that word out of his mouth.  Funny, but we can be so similar.  But now imagine you do confess, and you do admit wrongdoing, and the offended party simply ignores the repentant attitude.  Have you been forgiven?  By that person, no.  However, since the sin is actually against God, while affecting another person, if you have asked God for forgiveness for that offense, He says YES! (1 John 1:9).  And being forgiven by God is what matters!

So, let's take that to salvation.  We must all admit being sinners, being wrong in God's eyes.  It can be hard to admit that.  In fact, it goes against our fleshly nature to admit that.  When we repent of being that sinner, and turn toward God for salvation, again, He says YES!

When I offend someone, and that person forgives me, I should be striving not to commit that same offense again.  It should humble me to have been forgiven, such that I live a more faithful life as a result.  Same goes with God and salvation.  I should be humbled that the God of the universe is willing to forgive me, to declare me "not guilty."  Realizing that He allowed His Son to pay the penalty for MY sin, my life should be changed, pointing to His glory.  I cannot in good conscience purposefully live a sinful live, if I have truly been forgiven.

While this is somewhat superficial, the main point is that repentance and forgiveness, true applications of both, is so essential in our lives, our relationships, and most of all, our salvation.  I trust that we can all point to areas of improvement we need, as well as rest in the assurance of that salvation we joyfully share!

Holding Fast to the Name of our Creator!