Gifts Of Pardon, Mercy And Kindness

"You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness." (1)

Justice demands that sin be not merely pardoned, but the death penalty must be executed in order to eradicate sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (2), and "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." (3) God, through the gift of His only-begotten Son, has met the demands of His law by sending Christ to die for us. He paid the penalty for our sins and God provides the pardon.

God requires that we confess our sins and humble our hearts before Him. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (4)

God does not give-up on us because of our sins. "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (5) We make mistakes, and grieve His Spirit, but when we come to Him with contrite hearts, asking His forgiveness, He will not turn us away. There are behaviors to be changed, wrong thoughts and feelings have been cherished, we have pride, impatience, self-sufficiency and complaining. Wrong thoughts and behaviors separate us from the fruits of His Spirit and His values; truth, justice, love, mercy, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. The Spirit of God will cleanse us of the rot perpetrated on the world by the spirit of darkness, hate, envy and evil.

Nothing but His Holy Spirit can enable and entitle us to receive the blessings of His promises of grace, eternal life, love, joy, peace and His presence in our lives. "We look to self, as though we had power to save ourselves; but Jesus died for us because we are helpless to do this. In Him is our hope, our justification, our righteousness." (6)

Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister." (7) We go by the name of Christian, meaning we are followers of Jesus Christ. However, we are not Christ's unless we have accepted Him as our Savior, meaning that we are living the will of God in our lives. What an honor Jesus has conferred to all who have yielded themselves to Him and His Spirit that He has called us His brothers and sisters. Oh, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that He is willing, yes even anxious, to adopt us into His family as His children and brothers and sisters of Christ.

Wonderful Father; His arms are open wide to receive us and His great heart of love is waiting to bless us. He is ready, willing and able to pardon us, to cleanse us, to be merciful and kind to us and bless us, that we may know Him and share Him with all people of all nations.

1. Nehemiah 9:17.
2. Romans 6:23.
3. 1 Corinthians 15:26.
4. 1 John 1:9.
5. John 3:17.
6. God's Amazing Grace, p. 139.
7. Mark 3:35.