I have been thinking about the way God forgives us a lot, lately. I grew up as a Southern Baptist. We had several different pastors in my home church; the last one was by far, my favorite. He was real. Authentic. He did not preach “fire and brimstone,” but rather the love of God. I got to grow my faith through his messages when I was in high school and when I would come home from college. But some of the pastors before him could be kind of scary. Especially the ones who visited us for revivals. I remember one of them yelling from the pulpit about our sins will send us to hell. Of course his intent was to put the fear of God in all of us … and believe me. It worked.
But it taught me more about fear than it did about grace.
College and my adult years would have me bouncing around to different churches when I moved, and in 2013, I began attending a non-denominational church. At first, I did not know what in the world to expect, but my friends who suggested I try their church loved Jesus, passionately. When I asked if the pastor preaches from the Bible, my friend Tony looked at me with probably a mixture of confusion and compassion and said, “Of course he does. What else would he use?”
You see, years earlier, I visited a non-denominational church where the pastor preached from the book he wrote, and said if you touch his wife or motorcycle, he would “kick your ass.” He said this, word for word, from the stage. (Stage, not pulpit. Which should have been a warning sign, but I digress). Needless to say, this left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wondered if non-denominational meant off track, non biblical.
So I visited the church my friends Tony and Kate attended, and there was just something so different about it. For one thing, the setup was completely unlike any church I had ever been in; because it met in a very large building; a building where they leased space, but the auditorium was used for concert events, weddings, dinners, etc. It was also the auditorium for our church gatherings.
My first thought was this place was probably more for musicians and hipsters than someone like me. The lighting was dim, there was soft music playing and candles everywhere. “What is this place?” I wondered. Michala and I looked at each other and she smiled at me telling me how cool this was. All I could think was, “I hope this isn’t some cult-like church.”
But when the music began, something came over me. Something I had never in my life experienced, and keep in mind; I have been in the church my entire life. But there was this feeling … this unbelievable feeling. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I felt Him. I can so vividly remember standing there, singing softly and taking it all in, as tears washed my face.
The pastor got up and by the time the message was over, I did not want to leave. He talked about the goodness and grace of God’s love. He talked about how so many people have been “burned by the church,” because people are the ones who burned them, not God.
“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” - Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
I read this verse in my devotion one morning and thought how much I wish the little girl who attended revivals and church would have been taught this. Because every time I screwed up, for so long, I imagined myself standing in hell, “suffering for my sins.”
But you see, God is a God of grace and goodness. Yes, He has anger and wrath toward His people who turn their backs on Him, and yes, He punishes the wicked.
He also forgives us and welcomes us into His arms, every single day.
Every. Single. Day.
When we go to Him and say, “I screwed up. Will you please forgive me?” He removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Early in my life, I was taught there would be a great big book with a long list of every sin we ever commit, and when we stand before God, He will read them aloud and punish us, accordingly.
I have since grown to learn, those pages are ripped out and thrown away, forgotten, when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.
Friend, He loves you so much. More than you and I will ever possibly comprehend.