It doesn’t matter what you’ve said or done, what you’ve thought about saying or doing; where you’ve been or who you’ve been there with – there is more grace in God than sin in you. ‘He … always forgives’, says Pope Francis, ‘we get tired of asking forgiveness.’
You cannot be too bad, too broken, or too boring for God’s unconditional love, only too proud to acknowledge how desperately you need it. Ask and you will receive. Take one step towards the Father and he’ll come running toward you. Splutter that unconvincing apology and he’ll hug you silent.’
Pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”—twelve words—and he’ll do it. He’ll forgive you. Just like that. He’ll wipe the slate clean. Here, then, is the gospel at the heart of Christ’s manifesto: If we confess our sins to the Father, asking for his grace, we will be forgiven. Or, as the apostle John puts it elsewhere, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Taken from How to Pray by Pete Grieg.
