The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Forgiveness

Appearances can be deceiving. Many of us have spent a lifetime creating the mask that we wear out in public. We want people to respond to us in a certain way based on the mask we wear. For example, if we project a loving mother to the world, we hope to be treated tenderly. If our mask is one of a ruthless corporate executive, we expect others’ response to be fear. But the real purpose of our masks is to safeguard our hurts, hang-ups and habits so that people can’t get to know the “real us.”

We all need to accept forgiveness by acknowledging what Jesus did on the cross for us. God’s grace is always sufficient and his forgiveness is always complete.

We need to put aside our masks once and for all and allow people to get to know the “real us.” Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us and make amends for what we have done to others.” Forgiveness is clearly God’s prescription for the broken.

We all need to learn to ask for and accept God’s forgiveness. In addition, we all need to model his forgiveness with respect to ourselves before we can begin to truly forgive others and experience God’s love. Self-forgiveness isn’t a matter of assigning the blame to someone else and letting ourselves off the hook. Nor is it a license for irresponsibility. It’s simply an acknowledgment that we’re human, just like everybody else.

As we take the necessary steps of forgiveness, we’ll discover that we’re letting go of the guilt and shame. We’ll be able to acknowledge, “I’m not perfect, but Christ is. God and I are still working on me. I still fall down, but with my Savior’s help, I can get up, brush myself off and try again.”

By offering our forgiveness we can’t change our past — but we most definitely can brighten our future.

Taken from the NIV Celebrate Recovery Study Bible.