Photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash

What must I do to be forgiven?

If I allow myself to be forgiven, what does that say about me, my value as a person, my personal history, and all that I have cherished?

There are two times when Jesus is recorded in the gospels as specifically saying, "Your sins are forgiven."

Matthew 9:2 is the first (Also recorded in Mark 2 and Luke 7):

Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

This was in response to the faith of a man's friends.

Then, there is Luke 7:48 :

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This was in response to her love.

Both have one thing in common.

The person receiving forgiveness, never asked for it.

Others did cry for mercy. For instance, the publican prayed to God for mercy. The thief on the cross said, "Remember me."

Forgiveness costs God plenty in ways that we cannot grasp or explain, but God gives it generously.

If God gives forgiveness so freely, then why do we put up so many blockades to resist it? Why are we so reluctant to admit our need of it? Why are we in such denial of our complicity for the hurts of others?

The day has come to acknowledge the sin and sins that have brought us to our moments of need and accept what is being offered without price and use the space God has given us and Jesus has announced to make huge turn-around of repentance.

May we find the humility to acknowledge that we need God's forgiveness