A God Who Forgives

Read Ephesians 1:3-10

How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every blessing in heaven because we belong to Christ.

Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own, through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault - we who stand before him covered with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he want to! Ephesians 1:3-5 (TLB)

Savannah Yokel, from Alabama, loves to roughhouse with her little sister. Even though their rowdiness can annoy their family, it's all in good fun and no one gets seriously hurt - usually. This pattern broke recently when Savannah's sister's heel collided with the top of her pointer finger as they were wrestling. By the next morning, Savannah's finger was swollen, purple, and stiff. Savannah saw this as an opportunity to make her sister fell guilty. Throughout the day, she jokingly told her sister, "You have to do what I ask you to do, because you broke my finger." Her sister knew Savannah was just teasing her, but her actions made Savannah think about how differently Jesus responds to our mistakes. Jesus doesn't use our mistakes against us to make us feel guilty. Rather, his love overcomes our failures. Because he died on the cross, we all have a clean slate. Jesus forgives us.

God will never hold our shortcomings against us. In Christ, we are free from guilt. In Christ, we are holy, good, and redeemed.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for the way you love us. Help us to live into our new identity in you, for we ask it in Your precious name. Amen.