His Expectations

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
God expects me to be forgiving, as forgiving as He was through the gift of His Son. He expects me to forgive those who have not sought my forgiveness nor even thought they needed to be forgiven. He expects me to forgive those who are unworthy of forgiveness. He expects me to forgive without demanding from the one forgiven some act to earn my forgiveness. He expects me to forgive freely, and fully and eternally--the slate wiped clean just as He nailed all my sins on His cross, every one of them. Why? The world must know that such forgiveness is available to all. And if I am not forgiving, my heart will be filled with the other things: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice. Such a heart has no joy, and such a heart is highly contagious.

Though I never sought forgiveness or even thought I needed it, though I was unworthy of forgiveness, though I could never earn forgiveness, God provided it freely through the death of His Son. Though my list of sins was unending, God provided forgiveness for them all, every one of them, through the death of His Son. The bedrock of the Christian faith is that Jesus paid it all, freely, fully, and eternally because He is love. When I accept that free gift of grace, I become a child of God for eternity.

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