Pastor's Thoughts
Will God Forgive
As we head into the season of Lent we begin our walk with Jesus to the cross. Our theme for this year is Father, Forgive Them. The “them” is you and me. Without forgiveness there is no peace with God. Without forgiveness we will not inherit the kingdom of God. So what are we to do? Ignore and deny our sins? God forbid. Rather confess them, repent of them and look to the cross of Jesus for cleansing and forgiveness. But what if we are not willing to do so?
* Will God forgive those who worship other gods? Not as long as they refuse to recognize that the Triune God is the only true God and they refuse to repent.
* Will God forgive the sexually immoral? Not as long as they view sex before and outside of marriage as proper and they refuse to repent.
* Will God forgive the homosexual? Not as long as this perversion is considered “normal” and they refuse to repent.
* Will God forgive the thief and the shoplifter and the drunkard? Not as long as they excuse away these sins and they refuse to repent.
* Will God forgive the liar and the deceiver and the swindler? Not as long as they are not willing confess their sin and they refuse to repent.
But God will forgive all who do confess their sins and in repentance look to the cross of Jesus Christ for cleansing and forgiveness.
I met a woman who had an abortion and for years sought to hide from herself that she had killed her own child. She lived her life in numbness, often depressed, with nightmares, feeling herself unworthy of the worst punishment that God could inflict on her. She had no peace in her life until God led her to confess her sin and she did repent. Then God took her to the cross of Jesus Christ and assured her that the blood of Jesus was able to cover the blood she had shed in taking the life of her unborn baby. In Jesus she found peace with God and was assured that God loved her and was willing to call her his child. How happy this woman became and how eagerly she now shares God’s love and forgiveness with others who may have fallen into this same sin. Her life now was producing the fruits of repentance.
As we go through the six weeks of Lent let us spend time recognizing and confessing the sins that have polluted our lives. Then the message of Lent truly will be for us one of great joy and gladness. Father, Forgive Us, we pray. And at the cross of Jesus Christ our gracious God assures us that he has done just that. Through Jesus’ blood and righteousness we have peace with God and are assured over and over again that one day we will inherit the kingdom of God.
Thank you, God, for the season of Lent. And now help us to produce the fruits of repentance in our own lives too.