Forgive

Forgive

We praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

MY SISTER-IN-LAW MARLENE was startled and worried when an old coworker showed up at her office door. Her last meeting with the large man now looming in her doorway hadn’t been pleasant.

Three years earlier, Marlene had been a department head, overseeing about six hundred employees. One of her least favorite aspects of the job was discipline. One day, she found out that an employee was stealing small tools and paper goods. In his defense, the man told her that he was giving them to his church, but she had no way of knowing if that was true. All she knew was that a lot of items were disappearing, and he needed to be terminated.

On the day he reappeared at her door, she was working for another governmental agency in a different town. Marlene’s office was far away from the front counter, and when he arrived without announcing his presence, her initial thought was that he was there to get his revenge. But to her surprise, he wasn’t there to do her any harm.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did,” he said. Although he lost his children when he lost his job, the three years since being fired had been transformative. After hitting bottom, he was forced to look at the person he’d become, and asked God for forgiveness. He was proud of the person he now was and wanted Marlene to know that he was glad she had fired him. It had been the catalyst for lasting change.

Although we’re asked to forgive others, sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. Guilt and shame are a heavy burden to bear. But when we recognize the kindness and mercy we have received through the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, and mirror his gift by forgiving ourselves, we can finally give ourselves permission to fully experience true freedom and hope for the future.

Lord, thank you for the gift of forgiveness. Help us to forgive ourselves. Amen.

-Kristin

One Good Step: Is there something for which you haven’t forgiven yourself? Ask God to help you address any feelings of guilt or shame.