Experts say unresolved guilt can make it difficult for us to think straight, can keep us from enjoying life; it can cause us to punish ourselves, or avoid people we have wronged. It can make us think we’ve wronged others when we haven’t, and can even make us feel fat and heavier than we really are. Guilt is a terrible burden to bear. Jesus is in the business of forgiving people with guilt. We read in Luke chapter 7 about an immoral woman that heard Jesus was eating in a certain place. “She brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” After explaining in a parable how the woman’s tears were a reflection of her guilt and desire to be forgiven, Jesus said to his host, “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven.” Today. Jesus still offers forgiveness and cleansing from guilt to anyone who comes to him in faith.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
