“Thus it is written, that the Christ should
suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and
forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.
Luke 24:46
Forgiveness is the
key pin to the Christian life. Without
it there is no Christian Story. It was
and is God’s greatest act of love towards humanity. Therefore it is not an option for one who
believes in Jesus Christ.
As I spoke with
old friends about my life since I had last seen them I felt a new freedom;
first from fear of their reactions; then from the fear that I hadn’t completed
the work of healing and forgiveness.
There was a peace within me that revealed to me I had. The healing took forty plus years but it is
there, but only through God’s grace. One
thing I have learned is that it is best to do the work of forgiveness as
quickly as possible. Once a grievance
harbors itself in one’s heart the more difficult it is to get it to leave. It just isn’t worth it, no matter how uncomfortable
it is.
Receiving the
absolute forgiveness of God in my life is the most beautiful and awesome
experience I have ever had. It frees me inside out and fills me with joy. There is nothing else like it. It is what Jesus commissioned his disciples
to spread around the world; the good news that they were now forgiven and
reconciled to God. That is what the
Gospel is all about.
The whole of the
Gospel is what the Christian life is rooted in and built on. Anything less is counterfeit and lacks the
authority and power of God and it will not bear the proper fruit or last
throughout eternity. This is observable
in the world and in many churches today.
The Gospel begins
with God and ends with God. There is
nothing human made about it. The Gospel
will draw people to adoration, devotion, love, and obedience to God alone. This is what the Church of Jesus Christ
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