Monday, April 5, 2010

Forgiven

Last Thursday’s post posed a few difficult questions. Would you do the same as Jesus if you knew it would end in pain, betrayal and then death? The disciples proved they couldn’t. They ran away when Jesus was taken. Peter denied his Lord three times, just as Jesus had predicted (Luke 22:34).

We can beat ourselves up over this difficult question because we know deep down that it would be unlikely we could shine as Jesus did. But the great news is that we don’t need to be so hard on ourselves. The whole reason that Jesus came to save us was because we can’t save ourselves. We can’t be the perfect sacrifice. If we could, then we wouldn’t need God to save us.

What we can do is follow Jesus with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. The disciples may have run away, but they came back. They were forgiven. God strengthened their faith. They then spread the gospel. They did great works for God. They faced many trials and they continued to follow Jesus.

It’s important to ask the difficult questions. It’s important to strive to follow Jesus’ example. But it’s also important to know that God forgives us when we stumble. He picks us up when we fall. He will even carry us when we need it.

Are you the type of person who feels guilt-ridden when you think you have failed God? If so, what do you do about it? What things do you find hardest about following Jesus? Do you truly feel forgiven?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Lovely post. Of course, I always have to admit (on days when I'm being honest) that I probably wouldn't have been able to act as Christ did that day at Cavalry. But I love your insistence that we don't need beat ourselves up. That's why He came - because He knew we'd never be able to do it for ourselves!

Lorena G. Sims said...

Great post..Yes, indeed, He is an Awesome God.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thanks guys. The wonderful thing about our Lord is that He did all the hard work for us. All we have to do is love Him back :)

It is the love we feel for God that then motivates us to do all we can for Him and give all we can to Him.

Just Be Real said...

Lynda, thank you for sharing. Your post encourages me. Blessings.