“Joey! Stop hitting your sister! And Lisa! Stop teasing your brother!”
“Dad, why can’t you watch me play once? You never come to my volleyball games, but you always go to Dan’s football games.”
“Bill, you don’t talk to me anymore. You come home from work, and you are too tired to listen to me. Don’t you love me anymore?”
“Marsha, all you do is nag: “Mow the lawn. Wash the car. Come right home after work.’ I never get any time for myself.”
Do any of these comments sound familiar? Perhaps they all do. Relationships are fragile things. Words and actions can quickly destroy them, even in a family.
How can we make our relationships strong and lasting? Forgiveness is the key. Christianity is about forgiveness.
Years ago Adam and Eve destroyed their relationship with God. They disobeyed him! How did God react? He handed out the just punishment for their sin. Then God also promised a Savior who would pay for their sin, so they could be right with him again.
God forgave Adam and Eve, and because of Jesus, he forgives us too.
It wasn’t Adam and Eve or their good deeds that prompted God’s forgiveness. Remember, they had just deliberately disobeyed him, flaunting their freedom, and adopting Satan’s lies. No, it was God’s loving nature — which he also expresses to us.
Because of his love, God sent his Son Jesus to pay for all sins. What an incredible act!
Christianity is about forgiveness. All those who believe in Jesus get the benefit of God’s forgiveness, and in grateful response to him, they forgive those who sin against them.
Forgiveness is not cheap or easy. It cost Jesus his very life! It may cost us our pride, or something else, but through Christ it brings the kind of peace that has indescribable worth.
Pastor
