Do Not Condemn Yourself.

 I was baptized two Sunday's ago and it was the most wonderful experience. As I stepped out of the water I felt clean, and safe. I have grown up in church, but never have I ever felt the way I did two weeks ago. I felt reassurance. That is such an important word, of course growing up in the church, I was always taught God is there, and singing in the choir was how I felt the Holy Spirit, but I never felt reassured. I needed reassurance that my future was secure and I was loved in God's eyes.
I had been going to the same church since I was born until the day I left for college. Then, while I was gone, my parents decided to make some changes...they gave my bed to my brother, painted my room, and turned it into the study. They also switched to a new church. When I came back to visit on my spring break, I realized that my parents were also moving in a forward direction, no matter what I had wanted. My dad asked me to go to his new church with my family, feeling guilty that I had not gone to church once while I was away in college, I cautiously agreed. That day changed me. The pastor was not anything like I had expected, he was a skinny, bald man who had come to God at age 28 after living some less than Godly life. He had real life experiences and had come from far below where I was. He said something that Sunday that changed the way I thought about my relationship with God, " Do not condemn yourself for past sins you have committed because God has already forgiven you". I was in awe. I never thought about that, I had been condemning myself for such silly things like hiding my beliefs or getting mad with God, when he had already forgiven me. It occurred to me that God still loved me even when I made myself look so pathetic in front of him. A month later, I got baptized knowing that God loved me and I was still going to Heaven. Reassurance. It is important to understand that when the Bible and those cheesy, but true church songs say unconditional love, mercy, and grace...IT IS TRUE! Try not to condemn yourself for the sins you have committed in your life. That is not to say that you are free and clear to repeat it, you should still be sorry, but holding onto it and convincing yourself you are not loved is hurtful to yourself! Only God can condemn, and he made you a promise with his son's life: you are forgiven! So tell me, why should you not forgive yourself, if the man you so hurt with your sin can forgive you?