"Confession is good for the soul." Confession, repentance and forgiveness of sin allow us to connect with God. Confession is evidence of a Christian's refusal to allow sin to remain in his life. Through Jesus we can confess and repent of our sins. Through Jesus our sins are forgiven. Through Jesus we have access to God. Through Jesus we can forgive the sins of others.
God's way of forgiveness is good for the soul. It is the indispensable sign of the Christian life. Forgiveness is our greatest need and through Christ's righteousness, our greatest blessing. Forgiveness is a process at the end of which God declares that the sin has been dealt with once and for all. It is also a process in which we as God's people declare that a sin against us has been removed because of what Jesus did for us.
You might think, "That is so far removed from my daily struggles." Or is it? Learning to offer forgiveness to others has a direct influence on our relationship with God. Forgiveness is unnatural, against all of what our human nature dictates. As children of God we are forgiven and we forgive. If we are going to keep our hearts open to God we have to forgive, even when seems blatantly unfair.
God's nature is to forgive. If we refuse to follow His way because it's more difficult, we'll never mature. In fact, we will become estranged from God ourselves. That is a scary concept for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Living in a marriage that is anything but loving, trying to parent a child who refuses to be humbled by God's law, and giving up on a sibling or parent who has disappointed us time and time again are all difficult challenges. It is in the marriage relationship and in family relationships that forgiveness becomes most real to us. It is the arena in which God places us to work through confession and forgiveness.
Sin will cause our marriages to fall short of the promise it held in the beginning. Sin will cause us to fall short as a parent, child, or sibling. Every area in our life is susceptible to sin's destruction. By God's grace, He takes a relationship that has fallen short and gives it meaning. He provides the opportunity to immediately confess our sin and to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. His grace erases anger and bitterness. His grace allows us to restore severed relationships.
Often we are less patient with our own spouse, and our own children, and our own brothers and sisters than we are with people we meet at work or school or visit in our neighborhood. When this happens we need to look closely at the cross and remember the forgiveness we received from Christ there.
Only God can heal sin's devastation. He has freed us from the bondage of sin, reestablished our relationship with Him through Jesus and, therefore, we can restore our relationships to wholeness. Our life is to be one of reconciliation. We need to begin at the cross confessing our own sins and receiving God's forgiveness. Then our marriage and our family can reflect His Grace, too.
