"No man is rich enough to buy back his past," observed Oscar Wilde.So many people would dearly love to buy back or forever erase pages of the past. But guilt is deeply ingrained and refuses to be easily dismissed.
And who has nothing in his or her past to be viewed with regret -- nothing we'd like to erase forever or buy back?
One person described in the Bible as "a man after God's own heart" felt that way. David, the king, and author of many beautiful psalms, yielded to his passions in a moment of temptation. Forever after. he regretted that sin which scarred his life, his family and the nation. He wrote in anguish, "My sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3).
But he recognized the futility of trying merely to gloss over the past. Instead, he called for radical, permanent treatment and made his appeal to God: "Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities" (Psalm 51:9).
And God forgave his sin and removed his nagging sense of guilt.
That's exactly what God offers you. Like David, you must take the basic step of admitting your guilt to God. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
No matter how great your sin seems to you, God will forgive you if you honestly admit your guilt and accept Jesus Christ who died to pay the penalty for your guilt and to save you from your sin. "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
When you have done this, there'll be cleanness about your life. David's prayer will be answered in your experience: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
Reprinted with thanks from a pamphlet called "You Are Forgiven" (6G19) published by Good News Publishers, 9825 W. Roosevelt Road, Westchester, IL 60153, USA.
