Remitted part 3
If you remit someone's sins, they are remitted. That's the good news. Jesus has set us free and made us free. Now we can let people know they are free by treating them like they're free. On the flip side of that coin, if you retain someone's sins... they are retained. If you can't let it go, chances are they won't be able to either. I mentioned this verse already in this Rant series (it's one of my favorites, so I reference it a lot) but I want to quote it here tonight: "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Set aside the weight that so easily besets us so that we can run the race set before us. I like it. Because that weight--that sin... that unbelief--can trip us up. We focus on the snakes around our ankles instead of fixing our eyes upon the serpent on the pole. It's an easy thing to do--focusing on the wrong things. Seeing people for and as the mistakes they've made instead of seeing them as... people. We are complete in Him. But that doesn't mean we don't mess up sometimes. That doesn't mean we don't do dumb things. Make mistakes. Make bad choices. But none of that disqualifies us in any way, shape, or form. You ARE the righteousness of God in Christ. Every day. All the time. Even when you mess up. Messing up doesn't change who you are. Nothing can change who you are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are exactly who God wanted you to be when He created you. And, yes, there may be some surface stuff piled up making it hard to see what's really in there. But that doesn't mean it isn't in there. It simply means we need a revelation. An uncovering. We need to get past all that stuff so that what's deep down inside can come out. And it comes out when we know and believe that it's in there. When we see it and believe it. Because what you see is what you be. What you remit is what is remitted. What you retain is what is retained. We have so much power. In our words, and our thoughts, and our deeds. What we say and do matters. And it comes from what we believe. What you do flows from what you believe. If you believe God DOESN'T love you, you will do whatever you do in order to earn that love. Because love is the one thing we can't live without. We've got to have it. On the other hand, if you DO believe the ultimate truth of the universe--that God is love and He loves you--then you will do everything you do in order to share that love. Because it's too good to keep to yourself. It's the best thing going. When you love someone, you want what's best for them. You want to take care of them. And that's what remitting--or letting go of--people's sins is all about. It's freeing them (and yourself) from the guilt and the crushing weight that comes from those things. Letting it go so it doesn't crush us... or them. So we can run the race together. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far... go together. Don't make people feel bad about what they've done. That's not going to help them do better. Show them something better. A more excellent way. Jesus. Love!