FORGIVENESS OF GOD

By Odon Bulamba (20th September 2002)

If there is no beginning it means it is eternal. If there is a beginning then there is an end. We were born and one day we will die. If there is a beginning then there has to be an end. Our Christian life also has a beginning and end on this earth. We have to realise that one day our life will finish.

John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. Why? For our salvation and our redemption. Jesus Christ came to earth because since the beginning God wanted man to be forgiven for his mistakes. When Adam sinned God came down and visited Adam (Adam didn’t go to God) and made him clothes from animal skin to cover his nakedness. Forgiveness covers the nakedness of a Christian.

God asked Adam, “where are you?” First you have to know where you are. Adam said, ‘I’m in the garden but hiding’. And God asked, ‘why?’ ‘Because I have sinned’. God didn’t ask Adam what happened because it wasn’t the time to judge Adam but first of all God covered Adam’s nakedness. God asked Adam, “How do you know you have sinned?” Instead of answering the question Adam said, “the wife You gave me made me sin”. Adam forgot that God sees everything and that His presence is everywhere. God’s forgiveness is omnipresent.

After this God visited the people of Israel and saw that they sinned a lot. So in order for their sins to be forgiven blood had to flow. God thought, ‘I don’t want to come down all the time to kill sheep’, so God chose servants. “Aaron, you’ll do that to represent Me for the people. Take the blood of an animal and do this and do that and the person will be forgiven”. God gave Aaron power to lead His people to forgiveness. But many people died in their sins because sacrificing only happened once a year. God knows that forgiveness is necessary for everyone at all times because He knows we are weak.

God came (Jesus Christ), He left heaven where He lived and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. God loved the world so much He gave Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sins. We cannot receive forgiveness without receiving Jesus Christ.

Jesus died for our sins. He did nothing but accept to be crucified, tortured and arrested for our sins. He sacrificed Himself for our lives. We too must sacrifice our life for the life of non-believers. Accept to use your time for the lives of others.

Love walks together with forgiveness. If you don’t have love you don’t have forgiveness but flattery. First we all must have love and when we have this forgiveness will come easily. Because God loved us He gave His only Son to die for us. To forgive people we have to ask ourselves, do I love this person or not and if not, am I worthy to be called a Christian? We must love and pray for our enemies and before we pray we must know if we love them or not, and if you don’t, you must find a way.

When you love you practise justice, truth and you have no prejudice. When you have love and you see that your brother or sister has done something wrong against you and you forgive them, God is happy.