God’s Forgiveness

   “Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills, who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with mercy and compassion,” (Ps 103: 2 – 4)

   God did not create us to be unhappy; human suffering was not His intent; sadness and despondency isn’t something God wishes for us.  “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”  Most Catholics over a certain age will recognize that quotation as coming from the Baltimore Catechism, the book used to help youngsters understand their faith.  Yet this simple answer is quite complete in letting us know why we were created.  In even simpler words, God created us out of his love.

   He created the world and gave it to us as its’ stewards.  Had we followed the advice of the catechism to know Him, love Him and serve Him, pain, suffering and death would have never entered the world.  Instead, out of prideful sin, we broke our covenant with God and lost the happiness and joy we were intended to experience.

   Though we broke the covenant God still loves us.  He wants to reestablish that relationship we had at the very beginning.  He wants us to be His sons and daughters and live a life filled with His blessings, finally realizing the ultimate joy of joining Him forever in heaven.

   To offer us this opportunity Jesus paid the price for our sins and reopened the doors of heaven to those who would seek it in faith and trust.  He provided the means for us to gain forgiveness for our sins; not just once but over and over.  God knows our weaknesses better than we know them ourselves; He understands that we will stumble and fall.  Yet His love remains; His mercy is endless.  Our sins are forgiven, our debt is paid, not by us but by the love and mercy of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

   When we throw ourselves on the mercy of God, our sins are washed from us.  He loves us and wants us to be happy with Him forever in the life to come.  It’s our choice to join Him.

   “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.”  (Ps 103: 12)