Day 17

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:3-5

As much as we need to know God’s laws and His judgment, we need to know God’s mercy and forgiveness. We need to know there’s a way back to Him, and Scripture tells us the way back can only be found in repentance. Repentance doesn’t simply involve being sorry for what we did wrong yesterday. It involves today, tomorrow and every day thereafter. It is a change of heart and mind, turning from our ways to Christ’s ways and from dependence upon ourselves to dependence on Christ alone. Regardless of the depth of our sin, genuine repentance brings total forgiveness.

We cannot make the mistake of allowing forgiveness, readily available upon repentance, to devaluate the seriousness of sin. Because God, in His mercy, is willing to forgive, that doesn’t mean we can trivialize sin again and deliberately indulge ourselves because we know forgiveness is available. The cross of Christ is not a doormat to wipe our feet clean just to tread in the dirt again. But we don’t come out of our sin to be left in a vacuum either. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:4, “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” The cross of Christ cleanses and redeems us in order that we may be brought into fellowship with Him. It gives new life, the resurrected life of Christ, Himself, born in us by the Holy Spirit, and enabling us to live the life that God created us for.

Repentance is not just about yesterday’s guilt, but is a change of mind that addresses tomorrow’s temptations in advance. In the cross of Christ, God wipes the slate clean. The Bible tells us where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Though we will continue to battle with sin, we equally continue to draw on the grace of God. The cross of Jesus Christ empowers us to grow in His likeness because of the depth of God’s mercy and the abundance of his grace.

Prayer: Dear heavenly father, I know your mercy and forgiveness are readily available, but how undeserving I am of it. Thank you for loving me, a sinner, so much so that you sacrificed your son in order that I may be brought into relationship with you. your grace, mercy and love continue to overwhelm me. you are my life!

To reflect upon: Do I keep short accounts with God? Do I extend to others forgiveness and mercy the way God has extended it to me?