“When you were dead in your sins . . . God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” [COLOSSIANS 2:13–14]
In Jesus’ death we see God’s desire to forgive us. His offer of forgiveness is extended to all people for all time. There is not a person, living or dead, for whom Jesus did not die. “I forgive you, I forgive, I forgive you” whispers the cross through all eternity. God established our forgiveness by something he did for us, even before we ever thought of turning to him. God is forgiveness.
What does this mean for you and me? It means that God, in Christ, has erased the record that stood against us, nailing it to the cross. Now we can have peace with God. There is nothing standing in the way of our relationship with God. God came to reconcile us to himself even before we turned to him.
Because it is God who establishes this forgiveness and not ourselves, we are given a peace that cannot be destroyed. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, there is no more need for sacrifice; his was sufficient for all time. There’s nothing left for us to do other than open our hands and receive God’s gift.
Lord, thank you for offering me your forgiveness; I accept it enthusiastically this day. Amen.
