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Day 3

“[For] all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”

—Rom 3:23–24 NIV

The word of God tells us plainly that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. As humans, there is no way we can measure up to God’s standard of perfection, yet Jesus Christ, being God (and man) on earth, was able to fulfill that objective. He lived a perfect life and paid the penalty for our sin through his death on the cross. He took the shame and punishment we deserve. He conquered sin and death, and by believing in him and turning from our sins, we, too, can have eternal life. When we accept Christ’s forgiveness, he redeems us and sets us free from the chains of sin and death.

So why do we find it so hard to forgive ourselves? Why do we revisit our past and question whether or not we are truly forgiven? It is, perhaps, because that in our humanity, we cannot truly fathom the kind of love that does not keep a record of wrongdoing, that does not dredge up the past and hold it over the head of the evildoer. We must understand that when we go back in our minds and relive our past faults and failures and question God’s forgiveness, we take value away from what Christ did for us. In our minds we minimize the sacrifice Jesus made. We try to make God smaller than what he is, who he is. We try to fit him into our limited concept of love and forgiveness.

We have to understand that our forgiveness is finished. There is nothing else that needs to be done. Psalm 103:12 explains that God has removed our transgressions “as far as the east is from the west” (NIV). It is over. We have to let go of our mistakes and embrace the mercy and forgiveness God has extended to us. When the enemy tries to remind us of our failures, and we feel engulfed by waves of guilt and shame, we can turn to the scriptures that remind us of what Christ has done for us. When we begin to truly fathom the love of God and the extent of his forgiveness, we can begin to find true joy and walk in the victory God desires for us. (See also 1 John 3:20.)

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for my sins. Help me to understand your great love and mercy for me. Help me, by faith, to embrace the forgiveness you have extended to me and to forgive myself. Help me to let go of the past and walk in the joy of your salvation.