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2000-05-31 - Forgiveness
The Forgiveness Series, Part 3
Psalm 86:5 (LB) O Lord, you are so good and kind, so ready
to forgive, so full of mercy for all who ask your aid.
Numbers 14:20 (NRSV) Then the Lord said, I do forgive,
just as you have asked."
When my children do something wrong, my reaction to their actions is tempered
by the way they either admit or deny the deed. When they will not admit what
they have done wrong, I am angrier than when they own up to it. We were without
electricity for the past five days due to severe thunderstorms in our area.
Fortunately we have a gas-powered generator. Of course the cablevision was
out, but we had a rabbit ear antenna. My son and his little buddy next door
had been playing with this antenna, in spite of my insistence that they leave
it in the closet. Sure enough, with the power and cablevision out, I needed
that antenna to get the local news and weather reports. Guess what? When
I went to find it, it was nowhere to be found. As I calmly screamed
at my son about the rabbit ears, he denied any knowledge of where they could
be or that he had even been playing with them. My calm yells became louder
and louder as I cited all the times I had seen him playing with them, and
reminded him that he was the last one to have them.
Fifteen minutes later my young son came into my study, holding the television
antenna -- minus the connection cord and minus the two metal rabbit
ears. Dad was not happy. Faster than a fierce prosecuting attorney,
I fired off questions: How did this happen? Why did this happen? What
were you thinking? Do you not have respect for property? With the saddest,
most remorseful and repentant eyes, my son said only, Dad, I am sorry.
It wont happen again.
A funny thing happened after he asked for my forgiveness. I just hugged him
and told him to please not do it again. I held him and loved him and told
him that I was very proud of him for finding the broken pieces and admitting
his sin to me. The admission of the wrong erased all my anger,
all my frustration and all my disappointment in my son.
We have a very loving Father in Heaven, Who reacts the same way I reacted
to my son when he asked for forgiveness.
Hebrews 8:11 (NIV) For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.
There may be Earthly consequences for our sins. If we abuse alcohol or other
drugs, we may lose our families or jobs. But we are completely forgiven by
God when we repentantly admit our sins to Him.
Why then is it so hard for some of us to just admit our sins to God? He certainly
is not surprised by the sin. He knows the sin. His Son died for the sin long
before we even committed it. Sometimes I am so full of shame and guilt that
I cannot bring myself to admit my sin to God. Like a scared child, I want
to hide the evidence. Like Adam and Eve, I just want to cover
up my wrong. The evil one repeats over and over in our minds, You are
not worthy of His forgiveness. Your sin is too great to be forgiven. God
does not care about your kind. But those are all lies. God loves you
very much and wants to forgive you. All He wants is what any parent wants,
admittance and repentance. As Jesus said to the adulterous woman, we should
"Go and sin no more." Just go; turn away from the sin.
If we were all gathered in an auditorium and I asked, what sin is not
forgiven, most of you would shout out Matthew 12:31(NIV)
And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Are you sure that
is the only one? There are many sins that are not forgiven. Do you know
them? They are the ones that you never ask God to forgive. Think about that.
Father, search our hearts and help us to pour out our
sins to You. Help us to not feel so shameful or so full of guilt that we
are unable to talk to You about our sins. Help us to turn away from sin and
turn back toward You. In the name of Christ, Who died for ALL our sins, Amen.
David Massey
david@masseyre.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org
http://www.peacewithgod.com
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