30/07/2025
Often referred to in social circles as the immoral woman and notorious Sinner, a social outcast devoted to sin, an immoral woman and other words synonymous to it.
Her sin was just too much as everybody remembered her reputation but no one, yes no one knew her name.
She had stepped into a gathering that reflected the essence of her nature. But right there, ignominious to the brouhaha her action would cause, she threw pride to the dust, shame to the ground and offered the only form of worship she could offer to the Master.
A voiceless interchange characterized by actions that spoke words not uttered by mouth, wrought forth a verdict that would leave all gaping in their wake.
The Lord had looked upon this vile woman and adjudged her acquitted by reason of the pronouncement "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven;... And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven". (Luke 7:47-48).
I can imagine the shock on the faces of the "holier-than-thou" present at the event, for He who had the power to forgive sins had beheld the woman with forgiveness in His wing.
More often than not, the word forgiveness have been misused by many. Confusions abound from the usage of this word as part of our lingua.
What does Forgiveness mean?
The English dictionary defines Forgiveness as: To pardon;to waive any negative feeling or desire for punishment, retribution, or compensation.
Forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean that the person is not guilty of whatever they did that got us angry and hurt. Rather, forgiveness means letting go of the pain the incident is causing us. When we forgive, we give ourselves peace of mind, often times with or without the hope that forgiveness would be given us when we need it.
Psychologists have defined forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not ignoring or denying the seriousness of an offense against you. The phrase forgive and forget is one that we are all too familiar with. Forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting, neither does it mean condoning or excusing wrongs done to you.
Biblically, forgiveness is gotten from God and ought to be given to other humans as situations arise.
God first loved us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So forgiveness exists because there was first a sin.
Historical facts from Scriptures suggests to us that forgiveness was given on the basis of shedding of blood. God's instructions to the Israelites had been that blood of rams and goats had to be shed for atonement to be given.
Today we have the blood of Jesus that acts as our propitiation and the ultimate sacrifice for the remission of our sins, affording us the forgiveness of God.
Nonetheless, a lot of persons due to how heinous their crimes are, how dirty their past lives are, how inadequate they view their sinful life is before a holy and righteous God feel like they are beyond forgiveness.
What makes you feel that God cannot forgive you? The answers to these questions is to first understand that as one who wants to obtain forgiveness, it is imperative that the individual who seeks forgiveness must:
1. Acknowledge and accept that he/she is a sinner.
2. Believe in their hearts that God can forgive them of their iniquities regardless how terrible it is.
3. Confess those sins to God.
