Wednesday, June 8, 2005
John 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
FORGIVENESS ANYWHERE
One Sunday morning a father and his young son were visiting a Lutheran church. Church-going was not something they normally did but Dad had decided "something was missing" in their lives.
Everything was new. Much was strange. The liturgy definitely required their attention. Not long after the service began the lad was surprised to hear the pastor say, "I forgive you your sins." The boy turned to his father and asked in a whisper, "Can he do that?" The father whispered back, "I don't know -- but if He can, we've come to the right place."
Now, as you well know, Jesus did not intend the Word of Forgiveness for which He poured out His lifeblood to be confined to any particular day or place, and certainly not to certain buildings. That's why He placed it on the lips of every one of His disciples.
Wherever you are, Christian, is "the right place" for needy sinners to come to be assured that God's own Son laid down His life to secure their sin's forgiveness.
So, stand ready, willing, and eager. Be ever on the watch for the opportunity to speak the word of forgiveness Christ Himself has put in your mouth. And remember the promise your Master made when He commissioned you so to speak for Him. "I will be with you always" (Matthew 28:20).
