Do you know the benefits of being forgiven? Here’s how you might feel:
- You don’t feel guilty or ashamed anymore
- You can look directly into the eyes of the one who forgave you
- You don’t have to keep on making excuses not to be or work with that person
- You don’t have to go the other way to evade the poor guy
- You don’t feel any heaviness anymore
The fact is, life is a lot better when you are forgiven. Don’t you agree? Your burden is lifted up and will cease weighing you down. I should know.
We are not perfect beings (although we are commanded to be, Matthew 5:48) and thus subject to constant bombardment from temptations and falling into sin. From what we think, to what we see, hear, smell or touch. Yes, our senses lead us to sin in more ways than less.
In this kind of environment, sin, including what we regard as petty and random “violations,” takes on a form of normalcy. It becomes just a bump in the road. Asking for forgiveness, if we are not conscious of it, is relegated to an act that you do when caught red-handed.
Being forgiven is a nice feeling. It reinvigorates you to do much more. You become more creative and refreshed to tackle new things
But to a true Christian, someone who believes in Jesus, repented of his sins and committed his life to Him, every act of sin needs to be asked for forgiveness from his Savior. It’s a daily dying to one’s self, this is called repentance. If not dealt with, it becomes a piece of heavy baggage that weighs one down, to the point that instead of repentance, rebellion kicks in. We don’t want to go that way, I promise you. Just look at the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.
That is why when one is forgiven, it’s like a millstone being taken off your shoulders that hinders you from doing what God has set upon you to do. Being forgiven is a nice feeling. It reinvigorates you to do much more. You become more creative and refreshed to tackle new things because there is nothing holding you down anymore.
When was the last time you asked God for forgiveness? Just a while ago? Yesterday? A year ago? Take stock of God’s love for you. Do not be led by the deception that you are just a human being that is why you sin and should be understood. Small or big, white or plain regular, sin is sin and needs forgiveness.