1 John 1:9
But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I
wish you could have been in the car with me this morning as Timothy,
Nathan, and I drove home from the library. It was hot when we got in
our car, and I turned the air conditioning on full blast. Timothy
asked, “Will we sweat in heaven?” I told him probably not! Then he
asked, “Who makes the laws in Heaven?” I told him that God makes the
laws…and Timothy wanted to know what kind of laws God makes. I told him “Good ones!”
A
conversation ensued about heaven and God, and Timothy added…“Even if I
am bad, God will still love me.” So we started talking about Jesus and
how He died on the cross for our sins…and when we tell Jesus that we are
sorry for our sins and ask Him to forgive us, He does – forever and
ever. This doesn’t mean that we can act badly. In fact, because Jesus
loved us enough to do this, we should want to thank Him by doing our
very best not to sin.
Imagine, if you will, the indignity of a
4-year-old and a seven-year-old as we talked about how badly Jesus was
treated. They were aghast that “those mean people” did such awful
things to Him – particularly on the cross…and both readily said, “I will
beat them up for that!” I tried to explain that 1) this is not
possible; and 2) Jesus would not want this. We still have a lot of work
to do as the children mature enough to understand the grace and mercy of
Jesus…but hopefully, you are in a far different place!
So let me
spell this out for you. Yes, we should be offended by how Jesus was
treated. But think of how you and I have treated Jesus. What if He
got offended about that? Where would that leave us? Would we have the
gift of salvation and the promise of Eternity with Him? If we fail to
forgive others…do we really honor all that Jesus has done for us?
I
stressed to the boys that Jesus wants us to love other people…to share
His message with them and tell them how much He loves us. We cannot do
that if we are busy beating each other up…literally and figuratively –
with thoughts, words and actions. So I hope that today, you will stop
and examine your life and your attitudes and behaviors. Where have you
failed to forgive…and where have you dishonored Jesus in doing so?
Make
this the day that you redouble your efforts to demonstrate your
gratitude for all that Jesus has done – and continues to do for us. Ask
Him once again to forgive YOU for your transgressions...then get busy
showing others what it means to glorify Him in every aspect of your
daily living. And thank Him that when we get to heaven, sweat will
never be a concern!
©2016 Debbie Robus
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