He had talked to his mom about Jesus so many times. And every time she said, “No, it’s too late for me. He doesn’t want me after all I’ve done.” It didn’t matter how he pleaded and tried to reassure her God was just waiting for her to accept Him. That He loved her and wanted her. But she wouldn’t budge. Then this son and his wife got the call they had dreaded.
A neighbor hadn’t seen his mom for a while and began to wonder if she was okay. So the police did a welfare check and found her sitting in her chair, dead. She had been there for days. She died alone, in bitterness and despair. When all the while, Jesus longed for her to come to Him and receive His love and forgiveness.
This is the worst kind of tragedy!
If you think you’ve committed the unforgivable sin and God won’t accept you, I want to you to know that’s a lie from Satan. Here is the truth. The only way God won’t forgive you is if you continue to harden your heart to Jesus’ invitation, and don’t ask. He said, “Come to me,” and He means it.
- Come to Him in prayer
- Believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins
- Ask Him to forgive you and lead you in a new life
- Live each day in His love and direction
- Get to know Him by reading the Bible and hanging out with other Christians
Jesus told His disciples to forgive others who wronged them seventy times seven if they asked (in other words, an infinite number of times). Then why would He refuse to forgive us, as long as we ask sincerely? God doesn’t hold grudges like people do, or experience bitterness, regret, guilt, or distrust. There is hope when we’ve blown it! No matter how many times.
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24, NIV unless otherwise noted).
“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you” (Psalm 13:3-4).
God cares about the pain we suffer, even when we’ve caused it ourselves. Think about this example from the Old Testament. After the Israelites had returned from seventy years of captivity in Babylon because of their idol worship, they went right back to sinning.
God had repeatedly told them not to intermarry with the people in the land who worshiped false gods. He knew if they did, His people would be tempted to worship along with them (which included offering children in the fire to the god Molech). Yet, they married women who did not know God anyway. When the Israelites realized what a great sin they’d committed, they were truly sorry and wanted to make it right. They dared to hope: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel” (Ezra 10:2).
The only way to make it right with God was to send away their foreign wives and children. How heart wrenching it must have been! True repentance isn’t just saying you’re sorry, it’s turning around and doing what is right.
God does not call us to do that today. If we’re married to an unbelieving husband or wife, God does not want us to divorce them. If we become a Christian after we marry, or our spouse decides they no longer want to follow God, we’re supposed to stay married, unless our partner chooses to leave.
“If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him…But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace” (2 Corinthians 7:12-15).
Of course, we can avoid a lot of pain and sorrow by not dating or marrying a nonbeliever in the first place. Obeying God today also means not living together or having sex unless you’re married. Our culture tells us otherwise, and even many churches are saying this is okay, but God has not changed His mind. He knows impurity will pull us away from our love for Him.
No matter what sins we have committed, however, God has promised He will always forgive us, and make us new.
Ask Him now. Admit your fears to Him; tell Him everything. He already knows anyway. Ask Him what He wants you to do, and then do it. He will give you the strength.
This song by The Afters offers encouragement for those of us who’ve blown it. Which is all of us.