Sins.
A Past.
Everyone has both. Combined, they can be quite unattractive. Mine sins plus my past? Definitely ugly.
Whether I color my past transgressions white, gray, black or some palette of all three, a sin is a sin is a sin. God doesn’t differentiate between my white and my black. He doesn’t measure the gray and deem me good or bad. Acceptable or unacceptable. Fit or unfit.
“We have all fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Some of my bad choices I’d rather not relive. Rather not reflect upon. Rather not revisit. I’d rather bury them in a hole under twelve feet of dirt, six feet of cement, and a semi.
But what if a few of those mistakes come rapping on my door, no longer giving me the chance to stuff them down in denial? Do I pay for them over and over? Do I have a choice? Do I live in bondage to my past?
I don’t have to live in slavery to my former choices. No matter what I’ve done. Are there consequences for my actions? Yes. Will I have to live with those? Maybe. But not in fear and not in bondage.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7 NIV).
Yes. God offers me freedom. Like an overexposed charge card, when the debt comes due, He writes the check. He even covers the interest. His blood covers everything.
Everything.
The white lies. The muddy fabrications. The unpure choices. The murderous thoughts. The cruel words. All of it. Gone. And I’m left with a choice to seek forgiveness complete with a clean, white slate.
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25).
And if God doesn’t remember my sins, why should I? What an amazing gift. One I don’t want to blow.
Will I still continue to make mistakes? Of course. But I won’t live in bondage to those mistakes. I will do my best to forge ahead and, “…sin no more…” (John 8:11 KJV) knowing He will help me walk the path He’s designed and resting in the knowledge that when I veer, His arms are always open.