Forgiveness and Atonement: An Eternal Promise
Did you ever have a spot on your shirt or pants that you just couldn’t seem to get out, regardless of how hard you scrubbed and how much soap you used? It’s kind of that way with sin. We can try with all of our might to remove the stain, but we are incapable of doing it on our own. As we have come to learn, it requires divine intervention.
Sin is a burden. It can enslave us and even suffocate us, but we do have hope. We can confess our transgressions before the Lord and because of His perfect righteousness, abundant mercy, and infinite grace, we are assured of forgiveness. However, this is only possible because of His atonement on the cross.
Atonement is defined as reparation for wrongdoing. In other words, making amends for something that we did that harmed someone else. It is appropriate for us to try to reconcile with others we may have offended or hurt, but when it comes to our spiritual life, only Jesus can expunge or expiate what we have done. No amount of penance alone will wipe our sins and cleanse our soul.
As we read in Romans 5:6-8, “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
This sounds like a pre-Easter message, but it is actually an eternal-Easter theme. Because of Him, we have assurance, peace, and joy every day of our life. Let us rejoice
and be glad.