Forgiven

I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness the past few days.  It's a topic I think about often, actually.  I think about receiving it, extending it, living in and out of it.  Sanctus Real has verbalized some of the most important aspects of forgiveness in this song.  It really connects with places in my heart. 

There are a couple of phrases that really stick out to me in this song.  Things that I know I forget are benefits or gifts of forgiveness.  One is, "I don't have to carry the weight of who I've been".  How many times do I try to carry around on my back the weight of the past that I have sought forgiveness for and yet somehow think I must bear the burden of it, like a punishment of sorts, for a certain amount of time - determined by me of course.  Why would I ever think to include God in this?  (Sensing the sarcasm yet? Haha)  And yet God doesn't ask me to take on a self-imposed punishment for mistakes, failures, sins.  He has promised me that one, the weight or cost of it has already been absorbed by the gift of Jesus Christ taking on the sins of the world and two, when I seek him in true repentance he literally forgets about the sin.  The problem is I don't.  I am always the problem when it comes to matters between God and I.  His grace covers much more than I allow it to.  The other phrase that sticks out to me is, "In this life I know what I've been but here in your arms I know who I am".  Even though I know what I am in my flesh God gives me assurance that I am complete, as he has created me, in his arms and I can rest in that.  And there is forgiveness for when I act out of my flesh and have to seek him in repentance. 

The whole matter of forgiveness comes down to this point:  I know I am accepting the forgiveness of God when I can extend the forgiveness of God to others.  And if I am forgiven, and I am, then how can I not be forgiving?

Forgiven
Forgiven (with lyrics)