Musings: It’s time to forgive yourself
I’m going to tell you the story of "Justin". He was a bad guy. A really bad guy. No matter how hard he tried to be a good guy, he always wound up being bad.
It doesn’t really matter what he did that messed him up so much, but Justin was a messed-up man.
One day he heard that Jesus would forgive him. Yup. All he had to do was ask Him to forgive him. That’s it? Ask Him for forgiveness? He asked. Truly, and humbly asked to be forgiven. And to his surprise, he was. Completely. Utterly. It was too good to be true. But it was. Justin was beside himself. He was new man. He was a new creation.
It was all good until Justin messed up again.
And he lost his joy. Why?
First of all, nobody explained to Justin what happened to him when He was forgiven of his sin — he was a new creature. He didn’t know that. He thought his sins were forgiven and as long as he never sinned again, he was good. But if he sinned after being a new creature, he was done. Gonzo. But that’s not the truth.
It’s like being a baby. One day, you weren’t here and the next day you were born. Your father knows you’re going to cry. It’s part of being a baby. He enjoys seeing you take your first steps, learn to read, ride a bike and hit a baseball. It’s called “growing.” Does your Heavenly Father expect less? Does He expect perfection? Not from you. Jesus is the perfection we need.
Justin didn’t willfully sin, but sin he did. John, the Apostle tells us some stuff about that.
First of all, he was writing to Christians. Followers of the Way. Believers. Remember that. He explained to them that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves. If we confess our sins, no matter what they are, he will forgive us. Because He is faithful. Because He is righteous and just. And not only that, he will cleanse us and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Again. And again. Why? I don’t know why. He just does.
He is perfect for us. He expects us to be sorry for our sin. It all depends on Jesus and His willingness to forgive us. It doesn’t depend on us.
It doesn’t depend on Justin, but Justin thinks it does. Justin honestly, and humbly, confessed his sin - again - to Jesus. He was forgiven, but he doesn’t believe it. Deep in his heart, he has his doubts. How could Jesus forgive him again?
The point of the story is: it’s time to forgive yourself. Can you?
It’s time to realize it doesn’t depend on you, it depends on Jesus. And He is faithful. It’s time to walk in that forgiveness again. It’s time to be filled with joy again, and His peace.
He already has forgiven you. His grace extends to you. Now. It’s time to forgive yourself.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- 1 John 1:9
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Musings: Forgive yourself
