Repeat Offender

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
Romans 6:1,2

“I FORGIVE YOU.” These are hard words to say after someone has harmed you mentally, physically or emotionally. Yet imagine after you said these words to someone, they immediately repeated their offense against you saying, “Well, you said you forgave me.”

Forgiveness does absolve someone of the offense they committed against you, however it is not permission to repeat the offense. Forgiveness expects that the offender is truly sorry for their actions and will use every effort not to repeat them.

In the same way, the Apostle Paul says that just because God has given us His grace, there is no reason to go on sinning. Just as God’s grace extends forgiveness to us for our sins, the expectation is that we should use every ability to not continue sinning. Through Christ’s death, the consequences of our sin died. Through our baptism, we are reborn to a life seeking holiness. This can be found by continuing to seek God on a daily basis through Bible reading and prayer.

If someone continues offending us, we may struggle to offer our forgiveness. Even after we forgive, we may terminate the painful relationship to prevent further offenses. Thankfully, we have a heavenly Father who continues to forgive our every offense without ending our relationship, but instead shows us grace and mercy.

Every time we ask, God replies, “I forgive you.”

Forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it today.

This devotion by me originally appeared in Light from the Word. Check out their devotions on-line!