GUILT

Are you imprisoned by guilt over anything? Job 33:9 says, “I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.” I read a tale about a painter who wanted to produce a portrait of innocence. He found and painted a little child named Rupert who was kneeling beside his mother at prayer. The palms of his hands were reverently folded; his mild blue eyes upturned with an expression of devotion and peace. Of course, the painter named the portrait, Innocence. Years later, as the tale told it, the same artist wanted to produce a portrait named Guilt to be the counterpart of his earlier portrait, Innocence. With a purpose, he visited a neighboring prison and found a wretched man lying on the damp floor of a jail cell. The prisoner’s body was horribly wasted and his eyes were hollow. In a twist of irony, the painter found out that this wretch his inspiration for Innocence – it was Rupert. All of us have done things in the past that we are guilty and embarrassed of. These things haunt us to the very moment of mention. We need to learn to forgive ourselves so that we won’t be imprisoned by guilt. After all, Jesus has already forgiven us and freed us. You can’t change your past, but you can choose right now in your present to do something about your future. Repent and ask God for forgiveness, and forgive yourself as well. Your mental, emotional and spiritual freedom is hanging in the balance.