I want to offer my perspective from my heart and my own walk with Jesus. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to preach or tell anyone they're living life wrong. I am so far from perfect and fall short of the glory of God every day. I think too often I've noticed or found myself, and sometimes others, almost taking advantage of God- in a way. I know I'm a sinner, we're all sinners, I'm not perfect and nobody is. No sin outranks another. God sees them all the same, and there is no scoreboard of who is in the lead with most or worst sin(s) of the year. It just doesn’t work like that. We serve an all-forgiving, gracious Lord. Sometimes, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the fact that I know He will forgive me and take me in, open arms, no matter what I've done.

Knowing that, how many times have I committed a sin and beforehand thought to myself, “it’s okay; I can repent later.” or even, “God will forgive me.” I have heard these things from others, and I have thought or said them myself. Especially with the “small” sins. Telling a little white lie or talking badly about someone behind his/her back doesn’t seem bad because “other people do worse things.” To Jesus, it’s all about honoring Him. Consider this: what if I lived a life not knowing if He would forgive us every time?

Because now, it’s not a Russian roulette type-of-deal. I know for a fact that Jesus forgives me of my sins, and because of that, I am so incredibly grateful every day. Romans 4:8 says, "Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them." It's exactly that; He will never count my sin against me once I have gone to Him asking for forgiveness, renewal and peace. However, it’s easy to get caught up in things that aren’t glorying Him simply because we know He’ll extend grace. He will always love and love and love and then some.

Have you ever had a friend who ALWAYS forgives you right away whenever you mess up and pretends as if he/she was never upset with you? Or have you ever been that friend? Sometimes we call that person a doormat or a pushover. We “walk all over them.” We treat them like this because whether we intentionally upset this friend or not, we know that everything will turn out okay because he/she is going to forgive us, and we will hug and make up. Conflict is normal, and forgiveness is essential. But if we're going to forgive others like God forgives us, it takes a conversation and repentance. Repentance is one of those "church words" that used to confuse me. When I was younger, I always thought I would tell God I'm sorry and everything would be okay. If I did it again, He'll still forgive me. This still rings true, but as I grow up and grow closer to God, I've learned repentance isn't just apologizing, but also turning away from that and changing. Changing for the better, for Him. Romans 2:4, "God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance." Because He is ever so compassionate, kind and loving, we are able to change and repent.

I wonder if I slip into treating God that friend. That's not fair at all. He doesn’t deserve for me to walk all over Him because I know the end result. Jesus forgives us before we even apologize for what we’ve done. That’s how great the God we serve is. It would be unfair to continue taking advantage of His ever-present graciousness. We are saved by His grace, and He continues to save us every day.

Romans 3:23-24, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Jesus Christ."