How Can I Know?

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10 ESV). From time to time I get questions from folks who are following The Morning Devotionals. In the next few days I will deal with a few of them in a general sense. Perhaps they will be both inspirational and instructional for you too. The first comes from a young lady who lives in the northeast. She asked: I know God is love, but how do I know that he loves and forgives me? This question has been on the minds of believers from the beginning. The Apostle John dealt with it in his first letter. Our reading today gives us a peek at the answer. Our problem with forgiveness is that we can’t forget the wrongs of the past. Our memories are too good when it comes to the things we have done that have brought us difficulty and guilt. I haven’t met very many people who haven’t dealt with some regret in their lives at one time or another. It is natural for us to look back and wish we could live those moments again. While these thoughts and desires for a do-over are rarely helpful, and often destructive, they are a part of our natural inclination and nature. In fact, I believe these thoughts are one of the devil’s greatest weapons in robbing us of our joy and peace. You see, at the heart of the gospel lies the reality of forgiveness. For this Christ died and rose again, that all who believe in him may be freely forgiven. When we confess our sins, trusting in Jesus as our Savior, we can be absolutely sure that we are forgiven. That assurance is not based on any worthiness of ours, or any emotional feeling that we have been forgiven, but purely on God’s promise. Whenever we wonder if we are forgiven, or begin to doubt, we need to go back to promises like this one in verse nine of our reading today. We need to plant our feet by faith on what God has said, and rest on his sure Word that we are indeed forgiven. We can have trouble forgetting the wrong things in our past. We all wish we could go back and begin again. But the only way open to us is to confess our sins, accept God’s forgiveness in Christ, and move on. The vital thing is to trust that God in Christ is faithful and just to forgive us completely and forever. Never let past failures, or future fears rob you of present joy. Jesus died to wipe the slate clean!