blessed by forgiveness

I don’t think there are many out-and-out sinners, by which I mean people who want to do bad and be bad. I think most people, Christians or not, honestly want to be good people. We want to be liked by others, we want to be a positive force in the world.

But our reality is that we can’t – none of us, not the most pious Christian, nor the most earnest unbeliever. We struggle with our sins, even those of us who are saved. But those of us who are saved have one huge blessing: we don’t have to live with the guilt.

Psalm 32 is one of my favorites. Verses 3-4 capture so well what it means to live with guilt:

“When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.”

That’s how we all live, saint and sinner alike. But we who know Jesus can relate to more in this Psalm. There’s something we can do about it. Here’s verse 5:

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, ‘I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.’And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.”

Forgiveness, and no more guilt! That’s exactly why the Psalmist starts the Psalm this way:

“Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.”

And ends it this way:
“Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

Because that’s what I want to do every time I feel that weight of guilt lifting. It’s one of the most amazing things in the world.