Forgiveness is Release!

• I love the idea of being released and freed! I read somewhere that when Paul talks about forgiveness he is talking about release from something, deliverance from something that is binding the person who has sinned..so it wasn’t that God was offended and had to somehow calm Himself down and say ‘ok, I forgive you,’ but that He is our good Daddy who steps into the mess we’ve made and says, “Don’t worry, I can fix everything good as new, I still love you, I’m right here,” He is so understanding and doesn’t just fix up whatever mess came from our wrong acts, but He understands why we acted that way in the first place, and He heals that wounded spot in us, shows us the truth of His unconditional love which dispels the lies that have entangled us and made us act crazily….and that frees us from our guilt and shame, frees us to relax in His presence, frees us to live not by law (trying to do right and then feeling self-righteous, or trying and failing and trying to hide behind masks and feeling ashamed) but to live by grace, just being ourselves and enjoying life in the light of His acceptance and unconditional love!
  
  I love that definition of forgiveness as release, (so similar to the idea of redemption as claiming and freeing what is one’s own, and the idea of salvation as deliverance, wow!) and I think that with that release from all the lies and sin that was holding our true self down, we are now freed to be that real self, the real self emerges at resurrection and live free and happy and secure! And it isn’t just the real self but the real self is actually me in union with Christ, right! He has tied me to Him and takes me with Him wherever He goes, down into the grave to release me from the sin that was attached to me, and also up into new life to finally get to be my true self, the inner child being lifted up into real life with Him! And tied thus to Him, we can never again be fatally wounded by sin, bound by death, or fatally held captive by lies! Sure we may sin or get confused, but the lie doesn’t have a death grip on us anymore, death is conquered by the power of an indestructible life!