Somewhere in the back of my memory, I have a list. It's a list of "forgiven sins that I can't forget." The list isn't long. It's short, but it does contain a small handful of personal transgressions that, in my estimation, tend toward the vile and disgusting.
In my lowest moments, those sins on that list flash in front of my thinking, as if in neon lights, saying, "you did this... you did this... you did this." I cringe when that happens, when I recall all those awful things I'm capable of doing. Against my own conscience, I am unable to stand.
Thankfully, my conscience does not render the final judgment. Jesus does. And how I praise the Lord that He keeps no lists.
To be sure, He takes notice of every sin, but does He keep an account? No. For one thing, God is love. 1 Corinthians 13, the great love chapter, says that love keeps no record of wrongs. Psalm 103 reminds us that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
When we confess, He wipes the slate clean. I should say, He erases the list. God forgives and forgets. That's the nature of His grace. If you have a list in the back of your memory, a short but painful list of forgiven sins that you can't forget, let God's grace cover it all. Let the grace of God erase any leftover, unnecessary guilt.
(JONI SINGS:)
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
Pray with me and say, "Lord Jesus, your wonderful grace reaches to all the lost. By it, I have been pardoned, I've been saved to the uttermost. Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty. For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches even me."
His grace is great enough to erase that list of forgiven sins that even you can't forget.
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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