Forgiven?

Have you ever done something in your life that you regret now, and you wish that it had never happened and that you could start all over again? I know I have, and not only once, but a few times. It must be devastating for people to live their lives with the guilt that comes from believing that they can't be forgiven, and to keep on living in that lie.

Jeffrey Dahmer, who was indicted on fifteen murder charges, near the end, ultimately declared himself a born-again Christian. This conversion occurred after Jeffrey read some evangelical material that his father sent him, and a Christian minister visited him in prison and studied the Bible with him. Jeffrey was later immersed in water for the remission of his sins. He believed that God had forgiven him.

1 Corinthians 6:9a,11 – Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (NASB)

In our eyes, some sins and mistakes, like murder, seem unforgivable. But in God's eyes, any mistakes that His children make have already been forgiven by His Son's death on a cross. Jesus' resurrection brings us a second chance at a new, forgiven life! No one is beyond Christ's forgiveness.

Colossians 2:13-14 – And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NASB)

So, in the same way that God has forgiven us, we must also forgive each other.

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (NASB)

Prayer: Father in heaven, we give You thanks that You have sacrificed Your Son, Jesus, so that we can live as a forgiven people and start all over again. Amen.