By Jaime Harper
Recognizing the strain that our past has caused in our relationships with our family members, friends, co-workers, and even neighbors is hard. But many times it is harder to recognize the strain that our struggles, hardships, dysfunctions, and addictions have put on our relationship with God.
Due to the damage that we have caused in our past, many of us feel the need to make up for lost time with God. So, we get busy trying to “out-good” our bad. We think that we have to immerse ourselves in His work in order to get His attention. It isn’t bad to be about our Father’s business, but we must realize that our spirituality isn’t measured by our work for Him, it is measured by how we allow His work to shine in us.
We will never be able to do enough good deeds to cover up the harm that has been done. We are not worthy of God’s grace nor will we ever deserve His forgiveness. He shows us mercy, not because we have earned it but because He loves us. He reminds us of this fact in Isaiah 43:25 saying, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
An example of this can be seen in Luke 7:36-50. In this passage, Jesus had been invited to eat at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. A woman, described as “a sinner,” learned of the meeting and rushed out with an alabaster vial of perfume in hand. Reaching the house, she fell at Jesus’ feet and wept, washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. She then anointed His feet with the perfume. The Pharisee, reclining at the table, thought to himself that if Jesus was who He said He was, He would know the woman was a sinner.
Jesus, knowing Simon’s thoughts, said in Luke 7:41-43: “‘A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’”
Jesus then compared the woman to Simon and said in Luke 7:47-48: “‘For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven.’”
One way of understanding this account is to view the woman as doing a good work in hope of obtaining forgiveness. Another view is to understand that the woman came performing those acts because of her great love for the One who had already forgiven her debts.
In Psalm 51, David is in despair and in desperate need of forgiveness. The guilt and remorse he felt was because of his sin (adultery, manipulation, and murder), which was written about in 2 Samuel 11. In chapter 12, after bring brought to his senses, David understood that his sin had come between himself and God. He realized that his main concern had been to preserve himself from any blame or harm, and it did not matter who else had to be harmed in the process. His guilt brought him to his knees. He was separated from God, and he knew that he was unable to do anything to make up for it. In his weakness, he understood that his only strength was prayer. He wanted back the relationship that he once had with God. He went to the throne of grace, pouring his heart out to God, and asked the Lord: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You” (Psalm 51:12-13). By humility, determination, and grace, David was restored to a right relationship with God.
Another account of the same gratitude is shown in 1 Timothy 1:12-16. There, the apostle Paul wrote of his past actions against men and sins against God, calling himself a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent aggressor. He also wrote of the mercy that was shown to him in his ignorance and unbelief. Proclaiming himself as the foremost of sinners, Paul ended this recount of his past life by telling Timothy: “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).
Yes, many of us have done unspeakable things in our past, but God can forgive us and use our past for His glory. As you see though the verses above, there is no reason to run away from God, or attempt to work your way back into His good graces. Instead, seek His forgiveness, trust in His promises, and keep your promises to Him. Allow Him to use you for His glory and show your gratitude for His grace every day of your life! Regardless of where you have been, you do have a purpose and a place in God’s Kingdom.
Due to the damage that we have caused in our past, many of us feel the need to make up for lost time with God. So, we get busy trying to “out-good” our bad. We think that we have to immerse ourselves in His work in order to get His attention. It isn’t bad to be about our Father’s business, but we must realize that our spirituality isn’t measured by our work for Him, it is measured by how we allow His work to shine in us.
We will never be able to do enough good deeds to cover up the harm that has been done. We are not worthy of God’s grace nor will we ever deserve His forgiveness. He shows us mercy, not because we have earned it but because He loves us. He reminds us of this fact in Isaiah 43:25 saying, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
An example of this can be seen in Luke 7:36-50. In this passage, Jesus had been invited to eat at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. A woman, described as “a sinner,” learned of the meeting and rushed out with an alabaster vial of perfume in hand. Reaching the house, she fell at Jesus’ feet and wept, washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. She then anointed His feet with the perfume. The Pharisee, reclining at the table, thought to himself that if Jesus was who He said He was, He would know the woman was a sinner.
Jesus, knowing Simon’s thoughts, said in Luke 7:41-43: “‘A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have judged correctly.’”
Jesus then compared the woman to Simon and said in Luke 7:47-48: “‘For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven.’”
One way of understanding this account is to view the woman as doing a good work in hope of obtaining forgiveness. Another view is to understand that the woman came performing those acts because of her great love for the One who had already forgiven her debts.
In Psalm 51, David is in despair and in desperate need of forgiveness. The guilt and remorse he felt was because of his sin (adultery, manipulation, and murder), which was written about in 2 Samuel 11. In chapter 12, after bring brought to his senses, David understood that his sin had come between himself and God. He realized that his main concern had been to preserve himself from any blame or harm, and it did not matter who else had to be harmed in the process. His guilt brought him to his knees. He was separated from God, and he knew that he was unable to do anything to make up for it. In his weakness, he understood that his only strength was prayer. He wanted back the relationship that he once had with God. He went to the throne of grace, pouring his heart out to God, and asked the Lord: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You” (Psalm 51:12-13). By humility, determination, and grace, David was restored to a right relationship with God.
Another account of the same gratitude is shown in 1 Timothy 1:12-16. There, the apostle Paul wrote of his past actions against men and sins against God, calling himself a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent aggressor. He also wrote of the mercy that was shown to him in his ignorance and unbelief. Proclaiming himself as the foremost of sinners, Paul ended this recount of his past life by telling Timothy: “Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16).
Yes, many of us have done unspeakable things in our past, but God can forgive us and use our past for His glory. As you see though the verses above, there is no reason to run away from God, or attempt to work your way back into His good graces. Instead, seek His forgiveness, trust in His promises, and keep your promises to Him. Allow Him to use you for His glory and show your gratitude for His grace every day of your life! Regardless of where you have been, you do have a purpose and a place in God’s Kingdom.
