One night, in a prayer service, a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God’s call and asked God for forgiveness of her past. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But the change in her was evident.
As time went on, she became a faithful member of the congregation. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of their leader’s son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.
This is when the problems began.
You see, about one half of the congregation did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for the son of their righteous leader. The congregation began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand.
The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the leader’s son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife-to-be.
He began to speak and his statement was this: “My fiancé’s past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of God to forgive sin. Today you have put the forgiveness of God on trial. So, does it wash away the past or not?”
The whole congregation began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the perfect forgiveness of God.
Too often, even as people of faith, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the love of God. If the love of God does not cleanse the other person completely, then it cannot cleanse us completely.