"Then sheweth our courteous Lord Himself to the soul—well-merrily and with glad cheer—with friendly welcoming as if it had been in pain and in prison, saying sweetly thus: My darling I am glad thou art come to me: in all thy woe I have ever been with thee; and now seest thou my loving and we be oned in bliss."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 40)
Julian describes how a person can feel after some failure or sin, that we may be afraid God is angry with us and may try to feel very sorry, pray, or do some good work or even punish ourselves to try and 'make up' for our sin, clean ourselves up, and 'slacken the wrath of God.' We are looking for an ease of conscience that lets us rest, feeling that all is right between us and God again. This is the common situation so many times in our lives. And yet, Julian says that after all that worry, fear of wrath, and going through different rituals or works to try to 'get right with God' or 'in grace' again, God's response is to show Himself to us very happily and with a smiling face, letting us know that He has never left us, that no sin of ours could drive Him away, and we have always been 'ok' with Him. He wants us to see that we are always one with Him and always right with Him, and no sin ever changes that bond we share. God knows, though, that we have hesitation after we have failed or 'missed the mark' and that we can feel guilty, ashamed, or worried about approaching God because of fear that He is angry or disappointed. And He understands!
That is why He sent His Son to become flesh and blood and show us visibly what He is like, kind and gentle and forgiving, not harsh or wrathful. Christ took all our sins on the cross and they are absolutely gone, along with all the shame, guilt and condemnation that can come along with sin. He even put in us His own righteousness and right relationship with the Father. He did that so that we would feel totally okay with God, with a clean conscience, and feel free to approach God with no fear at all. No rituals or works are necessary to get back to Him or get back His favor because we never lost those things! He keeps us one with Him no matter what. He wants to put our minds at rest. We are His dear darlings, and He only wants us to see, know and enjoy Him and the love relationship we share with Him. He simply wants us to relax and let Him love us!
"Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God."
Hebrews 9:14 (GNT)
A Prayer: Thank You for all You did to make me feel clean and safe with You!