The Strength of Forgiveness

 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)

Your faith grows by counting blessings. Your faith grows by identifying and acknowledging your gifts. Your faith grows by sharing your witness and hearing the eternal Word of God. Your faith grows by nurturing your belief and exercising your devotion to religious practice.

Your faith grows through all of these things—but can I tell you how else your faith grows? It also grows by the depth at which you accept, affirm, acknowledge, and rejoice over how forgiven you really are.

Your sins have been washed away. Your penalty has been covered at Jesus’ expense. His blood was offered so that yours did not have to be. You and I live forgiven.

There is so much power in simply affirming that fact: You and I have been forgiven! 

That fact calls not only for love of God, but for love of self. In fact, I suggest that you can't love God or neighbor without loving yourself. Maybe that's why Scripture teaches that you should love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Salvation, and the redemption that is released from it, brings forth an awareness of who you truly are in God. This self-realization comes as you affirm and accept that you have been forgiven. Forgiveness helps you to accept yourself, to get over the you that needed to grow and mature and change and be transformed. It helps you to get over the fact that you had to be rescued. It helps you realize how far you wandered from the fold of God.

You live with a lot of amazing stuff that Jesus’ presence has extended to your life, but I dare you to find something stronger than the forgiveness that comes with salvation. You can't find anything that is stronger than living forgiven by God.