Day 3: I am Forgiven and Redeemed

Did you know that there are three types of forgiveness?

According to Dr. Stephen Marmer of UCLA Medical School, the three types are “release, forbearance, and exoneration”

In “release”, the offender makes no attempt to apologize or reconcile. Instead, the person offended must make a choice to release the negativity and pain in order to move forward. It doesn’t remove the guilt of the offender, nor does it attempt to repair the relationship.

“Forbearance" is similar but makes effort to maintain a relationship or connection. It allows for the person offended to “watch and wait,” moving past the initial issue, but withholding a full relationship until after a period of good behavior has been served.

Lastly, there is “exoneration.” This is what most of us think and hope for when we ask for forgiveness. We want the slate wiped clean. A brand new and fresh start. A place to begin again.

For most of us, we choose the variety that best suits the scenario. God, however, freely offers only one path– full exoneration.

God forgave us completely and finally for every sin we did and will make. He completely wiped our slates clean, granting us both right standing and a completely repaired relationship the moment we accept His Son.

Through the Old & New Testament, we can trace the heart of God and His desire to be close to His children. He constructed a tabernacle to draw them near, He resided in the ark in His temple, and then with finality, He took on human flesh to walk among us and left us His Spirit making us His temples to live forever with us.

He did us one better than just forgiveness. He elevated us beyond mere restoration.

He gave us intimacy.

This is the God you serve and in whom we draw our strength. The one that goes above and beyond the basics to redeem what was once lost, just because He deems us worth it.

God saw our need in advance, and he met it lavishly because, at the end of the day, the goal of His plan was always to bring us back together with Him forever.

Affirmation-

I am completely forgiven and restored. None of my mistakes or failures in the past nor in my future can keep me from the love of God, nor can they deter his plan for my life. My life has been redeemed and set on a course toward victory, in Him.

Reflection Questions-

How does knowing God’s heart for intimacy help you understand the finality of His forgiveness? What do you need to believe in order to walk in this freedom?