God Stands Ready To Forgive And Forget
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles, uncategorizedThe story is told of a little boy who had just been tucked into bed by his mother waiting to hear his prayers. He knew that he had been mischievous that day, and now it was bothering him. So he told his mother, ” I wish you’d go now and leave me alone — I want to pray by myself.”
Sensing something was wrong, she asked, “Son, is there anything you ought to tell me?” “No, Momma,” he replied. “You’d just scold me, but God will forgive me and forget about it.”
This little boy understood one of the greatest salvation benefits of all — the reality of sins forgiven. The Bible tells us that in Christ “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). We can enjoy freedom from sin’s eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1), and we can also experience daily forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
Additionally, the apostle Paul tells us that our salvation also provides added benefits: (1) We are justified (Romans 3:24) and (2) We are at peace with God (Romans 5:1).
We should never have the idea that our sins are taken lightly by the Lord, but when we are willing to acknowledge our guilt along with true repentance, God stands ready to forgive us because of our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross — in fact, He’s ready to “run” to forgive us (cf. Luke 15:20) — then forget about it! (Hebrews 8:12; Hebrews 10:17; cf. Jeremiah 31:34).