God Wants to Forgive You
Susie Spurgeon, wife of the famous British preacher Charles Spurgeon, wrote:
When I was a little child, and had been troublesome to my mother, reproof or punishment would always be followed by the…question, “Mother, don‘t you love me?“ And the mother‘s reply invariably was, “Yes, I love you: but I do not love your naughty ways.“ “Poor mother!“ wrote Susie. “Doubtless I tried her very much, and this was the best that grieved parental love could say.“[1]
But then Susie pointed out that our Heavenly Father has more encouraging words than these for His children who sin. He says in Isaiah, chapter 57, “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him“ (Isaiah 57:18 ESV). God sees all our ways, including our sinfulness. Yet His purpose for us is pardon and healing, not anger and punishment.
As parents sometimes our main concern when our children do wrong is disciplining them so they remember never to make that mistake again. But God‘s concern when we sin is forgiveness and purification. First John 1:9 explains it this way, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
When we sin, God’s desire is, as Isaiah put it, to heal us from our sin. He hates sin, but His concern is not our punishment but our forgiveness. When we sin, our part is to agree with Him that our sin is wrong and to ask for His forgiveness. God is just in forgiving us because Jesus paid the price for our forgiveness. Confess your sin to God, and He will forgive you. He promised!