Forgiveness

Something that God won’t do is forgive someone who rejects His forgiveness. But O what an amazing thing it is to see how instantly God forgives those who want it. In describing what God is like, Jesus told the story of a son who grabbed his inheritance and squandered it on dubious living. Destitute and alone, this son came back home to the only real love that he’d ever known. Upon seeing his dad, the son said, “Father, I have sinned!” That’s all the son had to say and the Father, who had been longing, watching and waiting for His child to come home, welcomed His boy with open arms. All was forgiven. That is how it is with God.

Now some might say that if God really loved us, then He’d forgive us regardless of whether we reject Him or not. This type of thinking simply fails to follow the logical steps of reality. Logic dictates this simple fact. If we don’t come home, them we can’t be at home. If we don’t pick up the glass of water, then we can't drink from that glass of water. If we don’t pull our hand out of the fire then we can’t stop the fire from burning our hand. If we refuse to receive God’s offer of forgiveness then we can’t receive God’s offer of forgiveness. It’s not difficult for those willing to use their intellect.

Reality is, God forgives those who want His forgiveness.

Another example is what happened to some of the people who killed Jesus. A man named Peter, one of Jesus’ followers was talking to a large crowd of people who were still practically soaked in Jesus’ blood. Yet Peter declared to them, what he had learned from Jesus Himself, “Everyone of you who calls on the name of Jesus for forgiveness will be forgiven.” Three thousand people became Christians that day.

It’s was the same for one of the criminals who hung on a cross next to Jesus. He had done nothing in his life to try to make amends for the crimes that he had committed. Yet the moment that he asked for forgiveness, Jesus forgave him and said to him, “Today you will be in Paradise with Me.” Only an hour or so from death, this man was at the gates of hell. Hell was where he deserved to be. Yet, at the moment of repentance, God’s love swept aside his past and welcomed him safely home.

It is the same with you and me. No matter what we have done, No matter what we’re like, No matter how grievous our crimes, Jesus is willing to forgive us and begin a new relationship with us. Jesus himself paid the price of our sins, He bore the cost, He suffered the penalty, justice had been served at the cost of His life.

If Jesus was willing to die for you, so that you could be forgiven, don't you think it's a little silly to then think that He'd refuse your request for forgiveness? All we have to do is accept the forgiveness that Jesus is offering. It really doesn’t get any better than that!