Judson: unconditional forgiveness

Thursday, December 15, 2011
Meditation:
    But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
    —Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Divine forgiveness is absolutely unconditional. We are not forgiven because we are not very bad. We are not forgiven because we are trying to be good. We are not forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. We are not forgiven because we have suffered; as the iniquity of Jerusalem was pardoned because she had received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. In the Old Testament forgiveness is always conditioned upon the repentance and suffering of the sinner; in the New Testament repentance grows out of forgiveness. We are forgiven because we are sinners. Forgiveness is the form God’s love takes when it rests upon sin.
    ... Edward Judson (1844-1914), The Outlook, v. XCVII, Lyman Abbott, ed., Outlook Co., 1911, p. 748 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I believe Your offer of forgiveness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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