~Initialed In Red

Larry had made the biggest mistake of his life. He had become involved with a woman other than his wife. After he had broken it off, he confessed his sin of adultery to his wife and she forgave him.    Even when there is genuine forgiveness, there is a period of healing, and trust must be reestablished. Throughout this process, even though his wife did not hold resentment toward him, Larry had not been able to forgive himself. He couldn't sleep well, he constantly accused himself, and his self-esteem had sunk to an all time low. After many torturous months, Larry consulted Reverend Cornwall. "Larry," said Reverend Cornwall, "Do you think that God can lie?" "Why no," replied Larry. "1 John 1:9 reads, 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.' And in another place," the minister stated, "God tells us that He removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:5). Have you confessed your sin to God?" Reverend Cornwall asked.   Larry answered, "Yes sir, I have, but the guilt and the memory are still there and continue to haunt me and make me feel unworthy of God's love or my wife's love." Reverend Cornwall began to pray for Larry to be able to see that he had been forgiven and that the slate had been wiped clean based on God's provision through the shed blood of His Son on our behalf.   Then, he spoke again to the hurting young man, "You know Larry, in God's records of the account of your life, this is what I see: several pages are blank, as if they had all been erased, and in the lower right hand corner of those pages are the initials J. C. in red. Jesus has erased all your sins from His remembrance book and initialed them with His own blood."    With that, the chains of unforgiveness toward himself fell off, and Larry was free, free to forgive himself, to pick up his life, leave the past behind and move on. He was like a bird who had been captive and now had been set free.   Perhaps, like Larry, you are having trouble forgiving yourself of something and accepting God's forgiveness. You can simply believe it because God says it and be set free from your prison today, as Larry was. back to Bloom Home