This is a welcome relief! After all the yucky presents we have given to God this season – things that He wants so very much – our jealousies, our idolatries, our fears – today we gift Him with our GUILT!
Whew! That feels better! This also we must do, along with the surrender of our sin. When we have repented of a thing, when we no longer answer its call to sin and doubt, we must hand over our latent guilt as well. In this Kingdom, clean is clean.
Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart (Psalm 73:1)
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood …
(Revelation 1:5)
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. (Ezekial 36:25)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
And should we stumble, should we sin anew? See above!
Consider … Merry Christmas! … of what good or benefit is it to our God and Father, or to His Sacrificial Son, that we should harbor our guilt forever, nursing it, extoling it, keeping it near to our breasts? We knowwhat we were. We can call that to mind at any moment. We know what we were and what we did and how we thought and behaved.
But in this Kingdom, clean is clean, and with truth that we gift and glorify our God this Christmas season.
The Yule Goat … ridden by Father Christmas and pranked on neighbors to make sure they did their Christmas preparations properly … like ridding every home of GUILT!
Pileckta, by permission, Wikipedia