THE KEY - FORGIVENESS

Psalm 32: 1 - "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered" (NIV).

David, the man destined to be 'a man after God's own heart', had fallen short (sinned), but knew the joy of forgiveness. His sin was against God, against a woman and her husband (adultery & murder), and against himself.

Psalm 51 records his anguish and pleading. "Generous in love - God, give grace! Huge in mercy - wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down. You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life" (vs. 1-6, The Message).

After David confessed his sin, he was a man restored, redeemed, forgiven, set free.

Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman who spent months in a German concentration camp during World War II, wrote that unforgiveness is a prison. 'Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is the power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.'

The question for us to reflect on - Do you & I need to use the key of forgiveness to let ourselves out of prison today?