Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:18
Lord, my soul rejoices today because You have granted me full and complete forgiveness. When You declared in Christ that You would remember my sins and lawless deeds no more, You have in effect given me a blank slate. I have to confess I often don’t know how to take this. You see, when I make mistakes or sin or fall short, my immediate response, apart from the deep sense of guilt, is to do whatever I can to make up for it. On the tail end of the words, “I’m sorry,” I am quick to follow it up with some actions to make up for the lapse in character. I try to do whatever I can to convince You and those impacted that I am not what my actions convey.
Stripping away the façade, I must confess that often this is comes from a desire to prove that I am worthy of being forgiven. I want to prove to You that I am not as bad as my actions portray me. And yet, I actually am. While I am on this side of eternity, clothed in this worldly garment, I will continue to sin. For every sin that I overcome another is revealed by Your Spirit that I must deal with. I cry with Paul, “Oh wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death?”
Yet Lord as I meditate on this verse, my soul finds great peace in the truth that what Christ has done does not require my efforts to make effective. I don’t have to prove myself or my worth. I am completely and totally forgiven! I thank You for the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit Who continues to remind me that I am a work in progress, challenging me daily to embrace the fine line between deeds that demonstrate a repentant heart and deeds aimed at demonstrating worthiness. My soul rejoices in the fact that I am fully and completely declared justified in Christ, that my worthiness is bound in Him and not me. Oh, that I would continue to walk in this reality!
Lord, thank You that my sins are forgiven. Thank You that my spirit has been made alive in Christ. Thank You that I am hidden in Him, being transformed day-by-day into His likeness. Thank You for saving me.