Forgiveness

A letter written to a man on death row by the Father of the man whom the man on death row had killed:

You are probably surprised that I, of all people, am writing a letter to you, but I ask you to read it in its entirety and consider its request seriously. As the Father of the man whom you took part in murdering, I have something very important to say to you.

I forgive you. With all my heart, I forgive you. I realize it may be hard for you to believe, but I really do. At your trial, when you confessed to your part in the events that cost my Son his life and asked for my forgiveness, I immediately granted you that forgiving love from my heart. I can only hope you believe me and will accept my forgiveness.

But this is not all I have to say to you. I want to make you an offer -- I want you to become my adopted child. You see, my Son who died was my only child, and I now want to share my life with you and leave my riches to you. This may not make sense to you or anyone else, but I believe you are worth the offer. I have arranged matters so that if you will receive my offer of forgiveness, not only will you be pardoned for your crime, but you also will be set free from your imprisonment, and your sentence of death will be dismissed. At that point, you will become my adopted child and heir to all my riches.

I realize this is a risky offer for me to make to you -- you might be tempted to reject my offer completely -- but I make it to you without reservation.

Also, I realize it may seem foolish to make such an offer to one who cost my Son his life, but I now have a great love and an unchangeable forgiveness in my heart for you.

Finally, you may be concerned that once you accept my offer you may do something to cause you to be denied your rights as an heir to my wealth. Nothing could be further from the truth. If I can forgive you for your part in my Son's death, I can forgive you for anything. I know you never will be perfect, but you do not have to be perfect to receive my offer. Besides, I believe that once you have accepted my offer and begin to experience the riches that will come to you from me, that your primary (though not always) response will be gratitude and loyalty.

Some would call me foolish for my offer to you, but I wish for you to call me your Father.

Sincerely,
The Father of Jesus

Amazing Grace

When we look at mankind against the immense backdrop of God’s creation, we realise how incredibly small, and fragile, and weak we are. And though we are so very small, He shows us in His word that we were made just for Him; that we are the apple of His eye, and the centre of His universe.

When we see how far we have wandered from His purpose and from the promise of abundant life and joy that God has ordained for us, He tells us He is always there to forgive us, to restore us back to full relationship with Him.

When we ponder the mysteries of God and His Amazing Grace toward a fallen and often ungrateful mankind, He proves He is always faithful to us.

When we consider His abiding and unconditional love for us, and though we often neglect Him, fail Him, hurt Him and fall short of His standards which are true and Holy, He reveals He is always there for us. Romans 3:23

When we think about how God the Father sent His only Son to die in agony and shame at Calvary, to bear and take upon himself the full punishment and consequences for our sins, even though we ridiculed Him, beat Him, mocked Him, spat in His face, and finally killed Him; He reveals the depths of His love for us. John 3:16-17 Romans 5:8

When we remember how our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was brutally whipped so that we could have healing, how He freely laid down His life and shed His blood for all mankind so that those who call upon His name, can know the Father’s forgiveness and have eternal life; we see His sacrifice for us. Romans 10:13

When we read how the Creator of everything that exists humbled himself by becoming a man to die on a lonely cross, how He descended into the bowels of the earth and hell to set the captives free, then arose victorious after three days to lead us into His new covenant of Grace; He reveals His tender mercy toward us. Ephesians 4:8-10 1 Peter 3:18-20 Psalm 68:18

When we consider all these things and how the Universe Maker became the Sin Bearer, only then can we even begin to understand and get a glimpse of how truly amazing and wonderful is; God’s grace, mercy and love toward us.

God’s love for us is infinite. It cannot be overstated and is overwhelming to us when we finally begin too see and understand this truth; And, though we fall a thousand times, or ten thousand times; still God’s love for us never fails. He is a Father to the fatherless, a Saviour to the lost, our Provider, our Healer and our Guide. He is the Alpha and Omega, The beginning and the end, He is ‘I AM’. He is everything we need Him to be in our lives, and He is our Very Best Friend.

When we fall, He is always faithful and there to pick us up again. His Holy Spirit is our guide, and gently convicts us of sin with no hint of condemnation. His word reveals to us that we no longer need to be slaves to sin and can be overcomers in all areas of our lives if we daily meditate on, treasure and store His word in our hearts, and, daily come to the throne of God in worship and prayer. When we do this we discover temptation and sin loses its power over our lives; because as we develop this kind of loving and tender relationship with God, He plants within us a new heart that delights in doing His will.

Let’s Pray Together.

Gracious Heavenly Father;

We thank you for your infinite love, patience and grace toward us. We thank you for your willingness to forgive us and we thank you for your unfailing mercy and compassion toward us. We thank you that when we turn to you in true repentance and ask you to forgive our sins in Jesus name; that you are always faithful and just to forgive us our sins; to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and that you cast our iniquities into the depths of the sea; never to be remembered by you again. 1 john 1:9 Heb 8:12 Heb 10:17 Isa 43:25 Micah 7:18-19 Jer 31:34. We pray you will help us to overcome sin in our lives; by teaching us to meditate on Your Holy Word every day, and store your Word in our hearts. We pray you will help us to resolve to daily come to Your throne of grace in worship and prayer; so that we may grow in perfect relationship with You. We ask this in the name of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

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