Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Romans 8:1
     Mrs. Brown was close to 90 years old when I came to visit her in the nursing home where she stayed. She had cared for her ailing husband for many years until his death. She was as kind and loving a person as one could know. As her health declined and she advanced in years she moved to the nursing home. When I came to see her I knew she had been battling loneliness, but I did not know how much she was battling guilt and regret. I greeted her with a hug and sat down to visit with her. I could tell her heart was very heavy as she began to talk to me. Tears came running down her face as she told me that she had cheated on a spelling bee when she was in elementary school. She had never told anyone before. “Can God forgive me?” she asked. The ghosts of guilt and regret were haunting her as she was reaching the end of her life wondering if she was worthy of God’s grace. 

     The struggle of forgiving self can often be more difficult than forgiving others. No one is more aware of our failings and mistakes than we are. That is what makes God’s declaration of forgiveness through Jesus Christ so powerful. Even when feelings from the past begin to creep up on us we can lift high the Word of God that states the pardon we receive as believers. We trust that the grace of God has accomplished all and more of what is necessary to set us free.  

     Do you struggle with forgiving yourself of past sin? Have you repented of your sins? Are you submitting your life to the will of God? If the answer is yes, then why would you stand to condemn the one God has declared forgiven. Take him at his word. Jesus blood is greater than the stains of your sin. They are remembered no more. This is grace.