In Psalm 130 David cries out to God like I'm sure all of us have from time to time. He knows the response from God will certainly not be condemning or unforgiving:
Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Jesus himself illustrates the way God feels about us in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The son had squandered his inheritance and was now destitute:
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
We often say that someone 'finds God'. In reality, God takes all the initiative and reaches out to us:
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Like the prodigal son, perhaps we sometimes feel unworthy to be the adopted sons of God, but God will have none of it:
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
Far from being condemning and unforgiving, God searches us out so he can lavish his goodness upon us. And when we accept his free gift, his response is the same as the father in the parable:
So they began to celebrate.
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