January 30: The Relief of Forgiveness

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. - Matthew 6:12

In this age of financial crisis, newspapers are full of articles about loans being "forgiven." The debt loads of entire nations are sometimes forgiven. There's talk about student lans being forgiven. There's talk about student loans being forgiven, or homeowners being forgiven for unpaid mortgages, or institutions being forgiven because they are "too big to fail." But one financial expert warned that there's no such thing as free forgiveness. Someone has to bear the burden of the debt.

Regarding our sins and souls, Jesus paid it all. We come to Him with a load of guilt and confess all our regrets. We tell Him about that moment of foolishness that causes shame. We admit the stupid thing we did or said. The tragedy we caused. The hurt we inflicted.

As we confess it, He forgives it. As we lay it before Him, He washes it away with the blood of Calvary. What God has forgiven should no longer have dominion over our minds. In the blood of Jesus, we have relief from our captivity or guilt and fear. As the hymn says, it's nailed to the cross, and we bear it no more.

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There is unspeakable joy... for the person who knows release from guilt and the relief of forgiveness.* - Stuart Briscoe

*Stuart Briscoe, The One Year Book of Devotions for Men (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndlae, 2000), 37.