PEA RIDGE — Recently I had one of those moments with my 8-year-old son. We are blessed to have a son that is really well behaved, and we don’t have a lot of discipline issues with him. However, on this day he was not listening and we caught him in a lie. We gave him his consequences for his actions and gave him some time to think about what he had done.

I think it is important to give my son time to think about what has happened and then talk about it. So later that night, when he was getting into bed, we discussed what had happened and why. He was preparing for his nightly prayers and I suggested to him that he should ask God to forgive him for lying and for dishonoring his parents. He began to pray and his voice was so low that I could hardly hear him.

That was not normal for him and I wondered what was wrong.

The next day we were in the car heading to church and he apologized to me for lying. Then he said to me that he was sorry for saying his prayer so softly.

I asked him why he was so soft and he said he was scared. I asked him who he was scared of and he told me God. That really concerned me. The last thing that I want my child to be scared of is God. Don’t get me wrong. I think biblical fear of God is healthy and appropriate. This was different; this was being scared of God’s reaction to my sin while I am asking for forgiveness.

I loved the teachable moment that I had with my son. I was able to tell him that God loves us and when we come to Him and ask for forgiveness that He isquick to forgive and forget.

He loves when we come to Him in these moments because He cares about our holiness and repentance leads to more holiness. As I’m telling my son about this, he tells me “Dad stop, you’re going to make me cry” (the tears were welling up in my eyes at that point). I think he was experiencing God’s grace at that point in his life and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it.

For far too long in mylife I have struggled with God’s grace and forgiveness. I could not understand how God could just forgive me for my sin and then actually forget them.

I would carry the weight of my sin and not enjoy God’s grace. However, if I believe the Bible to be God’s Word and, therefore, believe it is true, then I have to believe verses like Psalm 103:12 “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (NLT).

If that wasn’t enough He also says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25). He forgives and forgets.

I hope that my son has tasted God’s grace and will have a proper understanding of His love. It is an ongoing process, but the earlier he can learn this inlife the better. How should this play out in our lives?

Number one, have you experienced God’s grace and forgiveness? You need to understand that God’s grace and forgiveness is freely given regardless of your past sin.

Next, if you are a Christian, you must understand God’s grace. If you are carrying around the weight of past mistakes, and have asked God to forgive you then you need to stop. God remembers it no more and neither should you. Finally, if God forgives us, then we should forgive others. Do you have someone in your life that you need to seek their forgiveness and who do you need to forgive?

It is said that much of the pain that we carry around in our lives can be directly related to forgiveness.

Ask God to give you the grace to forgive those that have hurt you in the past.

Don’t be scared, He is a good Father.

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Editor’s note: Michael Smith is the youth pastor of First Baptist Church, Pea Ridge. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Church, Pages 2 on 12/01/2010