As this year comes to a close, FORGIVENESS is one of the topics fit for discussion. Have we forgiven as the Lord forgave us? Keep in mind that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross encompasses all sins made in the past, those we do in the present and those we are about to do in the future.
Christ’s forgiveness however, is not a license for us to sin. Don’t get the wrong notion of using God’s grace as your credit card to go shopping for sins. For it is said:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? {Rom 6:1-2 NIV}
One of the marks of a person who is truly changed by Christ is continuous renewal. If Christ really resides in your heart, expect changes to come about, which is the result of the Spirit’s work in your life. Have we thought about how we were in the past year? Are we stuck in the “I am now a Christian, now what” state or has there been a significant spiritual growth this year? As long as we exist on earth, the Lord works on our imperfections to make us more and more like Him. Take note that we can never attain perfection here, for it is only in Heaven, in His Perfect Presence.
I do struggle with forgiveness myself, but I just lay everything in the hands of God. his grace and mercy truly amazes me, for He is perfect and sinless. As we look over the past year, is there anyone we need to forgive? Anyone we need to ask forgiveness from? We can ask the Lord to reveal these to us.
Start the year right by becoming more like Christ. 🙂
Toodles. Happy 2008! Ah ah ah ah ah!!!
Ingrid Nieto-Pagulayan 