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by Lynette Kittle
Ahhhh…the sweet sound of forgiveness! It stirs up a variety of images, including confession, repentance, release—clenched fists opening wide to let go of past hurts and injuries. But most of all, a picture of a heart once heavy with unrepentant sin, freed to soar high with indescribable joy. Scripture tells us in Acts 5:30,31 that God …raised up Jesus…to bestow forgiveness and release from sins.
As Christians, we have the pleasure of living in forgiveness. It’s not a one-time deal that we only receive at salvation, but rather an ongoing gift from God that keeps us moving in the right direction. Psalm 32:1 states, Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered.
Sometimes, though, we try to limit the extent of God’s forgiveness by thinking we have to do something in addition to receiving it. Yet, 1 John 1:9 tells us, If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
At other times we may not fully understand just what forgiveness is working out in our lives. Especially so if we’re asking for forgiveness for something that we don’t think has really hurt anyone or caused damage.
But then there are the times when we face the realization that we have caused real hurt to ourselves or others, harm that we cannot repair or make right, no matter how much we desire to do so. These are the times we truly start to grasp an understanding of what God’s forgiveness offers us—freedom from guilt, shame, regret, resentment and much more. It’s also the time we begin to see how important it is for us to forgive those who have wounded us.
God, knowing our weaknesses, knew we would need a constant source of forgiveness available, flowing both to and through us. As much as we may want to obey God while walking out our Christian life, all of us still fall short at times. Without God’s promise of continual forgiveness, we would soon be weighed down, unable to step ahead. Instead of leaving us encumbered with the heaviness sin produces, He offers us an unending source of forgiveness to lift us up time after time.
In Zechariah 13:1, the Old Testament prophet told of a fountain that would flow and cleanse us from sin. Revelation 1:5 points us to this fountain and paints a beautiful, poignant portrait of the forgiveness that is ours through Christ: …Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (NKJV).
Christ tenderly washes the residue of sin from our lives. His blood is a continual fountain flowing freely, offering us unlimited forgiveness, more than enough to carry us through each day. No matter what we’ve done, it never runs dry and is available for our asking. Are you letting His forgiveness flow?
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