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A young man tells how his alcoholic father was so brutal that he beat his wife and mother without mercy. He once left her lying in cow manure among the animals on their farm. The man was so brutal that the woman told her son, “I just want to live until you leave, and then I will die.” Shortly after the son left for college, the mother passed away. Away in college, the son accepted Christ into his life, and later forgave his father. Because he forgave his father, his father also accepted Christ. Both found it in their hearts to forgive and reconcile. Human forgiveness is beautiful. Even more beautiful is the joy we can know when God forgives. In Psalm 32, King David gives us his testimony of how God forgave him. He writes, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night, your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” When we confess our sin, God quickly forgives us because Jesus paid our sin debt when He died.
