One of the questions I get asked, especially during retreat settings like Emmaus walks, is this: “Pastor, there’s no way God can forgive me. You don’t know what I’ve done.”
And I say: You’re right. I don’t know. But God does. And God’s forgiveness is there.
There was a woman at one of the walks who was convinced God couldn’t forgive her because of the depth of her sin. The team leader challenged her and said: “You’re selling God short. You think your sin is more powerful than the blood of Jesus Christ? You think you’re bigger than the grace of God?”
And she got it. She understood that God’s grace is big enough. The sacrifice of God is powerful enough to cover whatever anyone has done.
Now, the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And that doesn’t mean using bad language about God. It means God is right here offering you full life and forgiveness and wholeness, and you’re saying: No. God isn’t big enough for that. God can’t do that. You’re putting up the barrier yourself.
Sin, in Scripture, isn’t just a list of bad behaviors. It’s distance from God. And anything we do that distances us from God—whether it’s big or small, whether it’s something we do or something we allow—that’s what sin is. But grace is bigger.
A reflection by Rev. MaryGean Cope