… “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.”

Ezra 9:6

Have you ever felt such an overwhelmingly negative response to something you did that you couldn’t look at people in the eye? It’s so hard to be in a position where you know you are in the wrong and know that you can’t make things right.

How deeply we hurt when we know we caused pain to others and to ourselves. But Jesus talked about forgiveness in terms of debt: “he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47) but the one who is forgiven much loves much.

Christians do not live lives of shame but of love, having known the true depth of the things that have been forgiven of us. Let’s demonstrate that love to others today.

Ethan Kirl
Originally Published March 25, 2020