Fresh Start.

I was a pouter. As a child, I could get mad about something at night and hold on to it till bedtime. But no matter how determined I was to stay mad, I knew that when I woke up it would be gone. Some nights I got mad at myself that I couldn’t STAY mad!  Every day was a fresh start, even if I did not want a fresh start. The whole family was that way—no grudges. I would walk into the kitchen on a cold Monday morning—angry that I had to get up and go to that place that felt like jail—and my dad would look up from the newspaper and practically shout, “Well, Good MORN-ing!” I would barely mumble a reply.  I was the worst at mornings.

But his greeting mattered.  It let me know he had forgotten whatever happened the day before. I knew I was starting the day with a clean slate. My father would NEVER hang on to something from the day before.

Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He is not Santa Claus, making a list of every naughty thing you ever did. Do our sins matter? Yes. Do our sins cause suffering? Yes, to ourselves and others.  Do our sins have consequences? Yes. 

But if you have surrendered your life—all of who you are including your gifts, talents, dreams, plans, and ambitions; and everything inside you, including mind, body, soul, and spirit; and all of your past and all of your future, including your eternity—if you have truly surrendered ALL to Jesus, then your sins are gone. When God looks at you, He sees not your sin, but His own holiness.  And He is pleased to show you favor.

“His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime” Psalm 30:5.

God, thank you for your mercy and forgiveness! Help us to walk in grace, holiness, and purity, to know that you are pleased with us, and to make better choices because we are no longer burdened by sin and guilt.

ΑΩ