How happy those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered! How happy the man whom the Lord will never charge with sin! - Romans 4:7-8 (cf. Psalm 32:1-2)
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing! Forgiveness is the one thing that none of us deserve, yet everyone who asks receives, especially when we think of the enteral forgiveness of sin because of Christ. God’s Forgiveness allows even the guiltiest of person to be at peace and have happiness (blessedness) because they can be forgiven of all wrong doings.
Forgiveness allows us to reclaim the image of God in which we were created. We know that we are created in the image of God, and that we have fallen short of that image, but eternal forgiveness, I believe, is what helps us reclaim that image, the image that is built on love. This love, found in forgiveness, unifies us with both God and one another, as we both offer and receive forgiveness.
However, how is that we can receive forgiveness from all sin, yet still feel full of guilt? Sometimes we allow guilt to keep us from understanding what our faith is trying to get us to truly believe; that we have been forgiven, and that God no longer remembers our sin. Psalm 103 claims, “he has removed our transgressions as far as east is from west.”
In our hearts, we should have peace because we have invited the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of all wrong. Yet, sometimes in our minds we harbor doubt which keeps us from the knowledge of the peace that is in our hearts. Since we live in an age where we follow the knowledge of our minds rather than the passion of our hearts, we have a hard time believing that our heats are telling us the truth; that we are forgiven.
The doubt in our minds can be our worst enemy as we strive to draw closer to God. This doubt leads us to fear God in such a way that we are afraid of judgment, rather than a reverent fear that leads us to worship. The way we combat such doubt is to constantly renew our minds (Rm. 12:2) by reading the Word, meditating in prayer, and helping our hearts once again be the center of our whole understanding.
Just like a sail boat can be powerfully moved by the wind in the sails, it is the small rudder that keeps the boat on course. In the same way, our minds are a powerful muscles that allow us to process, think, reason, and understand the world and the things beyond; yet, we should give control over to our hearts, the place where the Holy Spirit resides. In giving that control to the heart, we may truly have the peace of forgiveness, and understand how happy we can be when we are no longer charged with sin, we are free.
The next step, then, is to give as we have received. Then we will truly know how happy is the heart that knows forgiveness.
Grace & Peace,
Sam