We serve a kind Father not a cruel Master. At the center of His kindness is His willingness to forgive our sins and let us start over again. When it comes to cruelty and slavery, we are the cruel slavers. We are the ones that wallow in our own filth. We put up with sin, letting it gnaw on our legs, stealing our joy, sucking life from us – we pull the noose tight around our own necks.
Maybe it’s in your home, a slow accumulation of petty grievances, bickering, bad attitudes, criticism, worry. It may not be obvious on the outside, but everyone is just a little on edge: your spouse, your children, your siblings, your roommates. Maybe you tell yourself this is just life, you’re just tired, there’s just a lot of people in your house, it’s noisy, you’re hungry. This is just the way I am. We can’t really stop being this way. We’re only human. Everyone does this sometimes.
But don’t you see? You are being the cruel slaver. You are the one saying, I just can’t leave this prison cell. I just can’t be free of my sin. We just can’t overcome our past, our failures, our habits.
But the kindness of our Father is greater than our cruelty. And He says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). Our Father says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). Your Father says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 8:12).
God is not a cruel master; He is a kind Father. And we know this because He sent His only Son to die for our sins. So start over now, get clean now, and then go from this place and put things right. Have a family meeting, talk to your wife, your husband, your kids, your roommates, look each other in the eye, ask for forgiveness, forgive one another, and ask the Lord to let you begin again. It really is that simple. You can start over again. For with God there is forgiveness and with Him abundant redemption.
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