Nowhere in the Bible does any Old or New Testament person tell us that we must learn to forgive ourselves. Indeed, if it were possible to forgive ourselves, we wouldn’t need a Savior God. Yet, many times I have heard someone say regretfully, “I know, of course, that God has forgiven me, but I still can’t forgive myself,” as if God’s forgiveness, though nice, is irrelevant to our peace of mind and spirit.

It’s true that reflection on our own wrong doings can help us understand ourselves and our world, but to continue to feel guilt over them in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, is to miss the new life that we can have, even before we go home to Him. Worse perhaps, is the notion that we have higher standards than the Lord’s for forgiveness of our own sins, and, while He may forgive, “I still cannot”.

Accepting God’s forgiveness is accepting Him as our God. It is one of the very reasons of the incarnation of God in Christ on earth. It’s the priceless gift experienced anew whenever we confess and know that we are forgiven. It is actually an acknowledgment of another Person who is infinitely better than one’s self, and yet accepts and even loves us.

In the 1959 movie ,The Hanging Tree, starring Gary Cooper as Doc Frail, his character rescued a young thief named Rune, and threatened Rune with exposure in order to force him to be the doctor’s assistant in a gold mining camp. Doc showed Rune a bullet that would prove Rune’s guilt. Rune worked conscientiously in fear, until he confronted Doc with the demand that Doc give him the bullet, and set him free. Doc Frail just said, “I threw that thing away a long time ago,” and Rune knew that he could have left at any time. In his service with the doctor, Rune had become a valuable aid and gained respect in the mining camp.

Corrie ten Boom once wrote, “When we confess to God, He buries our sin in the deepest part of the ocean, and then erects a sign that says ‘No Fishing!’ (Tramp For The Lord, by Corrie ten Boom) I believe that we hug our sins because we misunderstand the saving grace of God: “The Lord, compassionate and gracious God, Maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Exodus 34:6&7)

When it comes to forgiveness of our sins, both Doc Frail and Corrie ten Boom have it right: I threw yours away a long time ago, and: No Fishing!

Love in Him,

Prue