True Forgiveness

Key verse

I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.

Luke 7:47 NLT

This has always been one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. A woman who was overwhelmed by sin breaks a beautiful alabaster jar filled with perfume to wash Jesus’ feet. This act of worship and sacrifice causes tension and concern from the religious rulers, and they accuse Jesus of not knowing the many sins she has committed. Jesus famously replies by telling the parable (or story) of a man who was forgiven a great debt of 500 pieces of silver, and another man who was only forgiven 50 pieces. He then asks His disciples, “Which debtor loved Me more after being forgiven?” This seems like such a simple question, but if we aren’t careful, we lose sight of the weight of our forgiveness when it comes to our personal walk and salvation.

In my life, I have blown it many times. As a teenager, I made many mistakes and hurt those closest to me. Poor decisions left me in a place of isolation and brokenness. Growing up as a missionary kid and a child of a minister, I heard about Jesus my whole life, but it wasn’t until I experienced Jesus' personal forgiveness and life transformation in my darkest hour that I appreciated what He had done for me by dying on the cross and forgiving my sins. Because of my great sin and the radical change that occurred in my life, I was immediately sold out for Jesus. I began to serve Him with all of my being. I bypassed the traditional infancy of a new believer and began preaching, leading worship, and leading others to Christ within the first month of getting saved. This verse always resonates with me because of the extreme forgiveness I have personally experienced in my life.

I hope that each of you will experience the life-transforming love of Jesus Christ and pray this prayer from Ephesians 3 over our church family:

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

Prayer

Lord, help me experience the true forgiveness of Christ and comprehend the weight of what You paid on the cross, for all of my sins, past, present, and future. Help me learn to forgive myself and see myself the way You see me—blameless and pure.