This week in our Alpha course, we heard a testimony from a man who became a Christian while serving a jail sentence in Britain for having committed multiple violent crimes. His life has now been turned around. Since his release, he has devoted himself to reaching out to other men in prison - sharing his life story and the good news of the gospel. He has a stable, loving family and seems to be a completely new person.
What impressed me about his story was how he didn't try to hide what he had done - he was very straight about his crimes - but neither did he seemed to be overwhelmed by shame - we got the sense that he was genuinely free of his past and living unashamed.
We are not guilty of crimes he committed, but I wonder if the kind of freedom he knows eludes some of us. You and I are loved by God, and God has released us from the power and shame of our sin. It is time that we forgave ourselves too.