Live Forgiven
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“Then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live.” 2 Chronicles 6:27 NIV
Last week I sat on the front pew of a church from my childhood at a family funeral. Memories flooded my mind of this dear family, those who were a part of the church family and are now in Heaven, and the foundation of faith and love these believers gave to me. Then I thought of myself as a teenager and what I experienced then and what I still wish I could change. I thought of the events and situations of my life that I keep asking for God’s forgiveness. In that moment, I realized I am no longer that girl so why live in the pain and sorrow of the past. The past is the past. It is part of my foundation that I have experienced and learned from, but I do not need to stay in those feelings and pain.
I then heard the song – “Live Forgiven” by Gordon Mote. A portion of the song states –
We are free, when we don’t know it
We are loved, when we can’t believe it
The past is broken, the cross has spoken
Live forgiven, live forgiven
There’s more mercy there than we could ever fathom
Live forgiven
As a Christian, we know we are loved, we are free from the bondage of sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. The past is not in control, and we have been released from the sin. We are not the child or the adult that messed up. We still punish ourselves even though we say Jesus has paid the price for our sin. We live as if we still need to suffer the consequences and pay the price. We live as if we need to earn God’s love and the love of others.
We are “scarred and scared” and keep our failures and how we view ourselves hidden from the world. We pretend we have it all together and are living in God’s grace. But inside we are negative about ourselves, filled with worry someone will find out our past or someone will see that we are existing in the grief and are not dealing well with this different life.
We continue to see our sins and flaws not God’s love and grace. We feel guilty we do not do enough or feel we should be stronger or further down the path. STOP! God loves you as His child not because of what you have done but because of whose you are – His beloved child. Everything we have ever done wrong or not done, He forgives us. We confess and God forgives and does not hold it against us. That’s grace. That is God’s part – He loves, He forgives, He does not hold it against us. He is with us. Our part – LIVE. To live is to breath, to remain alive with vigor and energy. To be fully present in the moment not to just exist and take up space. To experience the moment.
As we are walking through the struggles, the disappointments and the losses of life, it feels like time stops for a while. We go through the motions, but we are not living. Living does not mean everything is wonderful. Living is more about our attitude and outlook on life. It involves trust, belief, acceptance, and movement. It is living in the pain. Living in the hurt. Living in the grief. We cannot deny the struggles of life, but they do not need to consume us to the point we stop living.
It is finding moments when we recognize life – the sunrise, the blue sky, the stars, the smile of a child, the smell of fresh baked cookies, and the fellowship of a friend. Life may not be what you expected or wished, but it is the life you now have. Live forgiven. Forgive yourself. Live the life you now have and who you now are. Live in God’s grace and presence. Living means living close to Jesus. It is being aware that God is with you. You live in the relationship with God as your focus, not the problems and difficulties and sorrow of life. Live in the moments. The key is to find a way to live. Begin living into the life you now have.
