Thought- We are forgiven, but do our lives reflect it?
Scripture- “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” – Psalm 32:1
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:7
Insight: In day 12 of learning to apply biblical principles to our daily life, what we are referring to as Practical Christianity, let’s consider what it means to be forgiven of our sins through the redemptive work of Jesus on the Cross, and how we should respond. This should be the source of our greatest joy and freedom. The weight, guilt and shame of our sin has been dealt with once and for all. Psalm 103:12 promises “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions (sins) from us. In other words, it is done. Our sins are wiped clean. Finished, paid for and done forever! But do we really believe it? Does our life reflect that? Does joy flow out from us for a watching world to see? If we could just grasp this thought daily and impart it deep into our souls, we should be the most fearless and free people on the planet. But many times, we still wallow in our mire. Our guilt and shame keep us in the shackles of sin that has already been dealt with by Christ’s blood. We therefore get stuck in past regrets, unable to fully live from the position of victory that Christ’s sacrifice so deserves.
I think on some level we just have a hard time fully comprehending what Christ did for us. I mean we believe it as followers that Christ’s atonement was what God required for the sinful rebellion of humanity against His Dominion. Romans 3:25 says it very succinctly “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” But our sin is so personal, and we feel guilty when we miss the mark. Also, our little nemesis keeps reminding us with his lies and whispers of deceitfulness every time we mess up. This sometimes distracts us from fully embracing the joy that should exude from us daily. The conflict is real, but the war is already won. I have learned to remind myself of this fact every time I sin, which is pretty much daily. Because we are saved, that does not mean we still don’t sin. It means that sin has lost its grip on us. To quote Hilsong United “who the Son sets free, oh is free indeed. I am a child of God, yes I am! In my Father’s house there’s a place for me, I am a child of God, yes I am.” We should be the kindest, most fearless, happiest people on this earth because of God’s forgiveness of our sins through Christ. So are we showing this to the world? The world desperately needs us to live this out before their watching eyes. The need to know there is hope in Christ that can set them free!
Prayer: Father God, thank you that we are forgiven through the blood of your Son, Jesus, shed on the Cross for forgiveness of our sins. That is an amazing illustration of your love for us! I pray I can live a life that reflects that in every waking moment that I have on this earth. He deserves nothing less. Amen!
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