So Great is His Love

By: Donna Winchell

 
About a month ago my wonderful granddaughter invited me to her gender reveal party that she was having at her home. Still being cautious about being around a multitude of people at that time, I told her “I’m sorry, but ……...”. Haley is very special, and I never want to hurt her feelings, so I felt the need to try and share all my reasons for not attending, hoping she wouldn’t be disappointed in me.

Have I done the same thing with God; told Him I’m sorry, then added all my reasons why I did something, hoping He wouldn’t be disappointed in me. Unfortunately, I know I have. Sometimes when I am deeply upset by the way in which I have handled something, I might find myself telling Him, “I’m sorry, but….”. Instead of owning my action, I try to explain it away. When we love the Lord, it is natural to want to please Him, but we need our behavior to reflect our position as a deeply loved child of God.

God knows our weaknesses and imperfections; nevertheless, He continues to love us. His love is unconditional, and even if we may be disappointed in ourselves or regret what we may or may not have done, we know God’s love for us will never change. Knowing this, our confessions before God should always be anchored in the confidence that He will forgive us without needing any of our explanations or excuses. If we express deep sorrow for our actions and ask Him for help and forgiveness and simply tell Him “I’m sorry”, we won’t disappoint Him.

Being genuinely sorry without explanation is critical in our relationship with God…. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:4);  “¹ Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ² Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit”. (Psalm 32:1-2).

God’s grace allows us to quit hiding behind our excuses, to simply repent and find comfort knowing that He will never stop loving us in our journey to righteousness. What matters to Him is the attitude of our hearts and our honesty.

There are seven Penitential Psalms that convey repentance and are expressive of sorrow for sin. (Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142). As we enter this Lenten season, I encourage you to spend some time in quiet contemplation with any or all of these Psalms. Let God know you are sorry, with no excuses; just honest confessions before our merciful Lord; knowing we can be assured of His forgiveness; so great is His love.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son”… (John 3:16). We are so blessed to have this gift of unconditional love and forgiveness made available through Jesus’ death on the cross and through His glorious resurrection. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love” (Psalm 103:11).

Instead of saying, “I’m sorry, but…..” we can say –  “I’m sorry dear Lord because I love You and I know You forgive me, so great is Your love!”  

Lift your voices this week and sing along to: Great Is Your Love - YouTube