By Mark Gainey, Deerfoot Baptist Church
With each beginning of a new school year, I think about all the great memories I had with friends in school. However, I also remember some not so great moments. One of those awful memories is a dreary fall day in my freshman year. My best friend and I had just gotten into a scuffle over—what else—a girl. We were foolish enough to let something like that get between our friendship and we were even more foolish to get into a fight over it.
The next thing we knew, we were in the principal’s office that morning. It also happened to be the morning of my first debate tournament. I not only had jeopardized my classes, my Christian witness, but I had also put my team in a terrible situation.
I’ll never forget the feeling as the principal walked in. That feeling of overwhelming dread. What would my parents say? What would my friends think? What would my debate coach do? To my amazement, the principal gave us a warning, told us we had a higher standard to live up to, and gave us grace. We went back to class, thankful for his grace and determined to never let it happen again!
Some of our classmates were angry, though. They couldn’t believe we didn’t get in trouble. But the reality was they couldn’t condemn us. There was only one person who had to power to do that—the principal. Since he decided to give us grace, no one could condemn us.
That is exactly the way it is with God. Romans 8:33-34 says “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised…”
That scripture explains a very important truth for those of us who are followers of Jesus. If we have a personal relationship with Christ, there is no one or nothing that can bring condemnation on us. At times in our lives when we sin, mess up, or blow it, we tend to feel guilt or shame. We feel like we’ve been sent to the principal’s office. The good news is that if you are a follower of Christ, you’ve been given grace and are forgiven. You’ve been reminded to live to a higher standard. And there is incredible news for those of you who don’t belong to Jesus. God offers you grace and mercy if you are willing to surrender to Him!
The next time you’re tempted to feel shame for your past mistakes, remember since Jesus died for you, if you receive His forgiveness, no one can condemn you!