Ezekiel 33:14-16 -- On Letting Go of Past Sin

"Again. when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live."
Ezekiel 33:14-16


Sometimes in this life there are things that it seems like you just can't get over... you screw up somewhere along the line and -BAM- you suffer for it for life.  Say the wrong thing to a loved one... get a bad GPA in college... I have a student in one of my classes who went through 5 surgeries, 2 comas, and suffered brain damage because he chose not to wear his bike helmet one day.

Because life can be so unforgiving at times, it is easy to picture God as one of those severe high school teachers... mess up once, and you've had it.  Hellfire and brimstone is the best you can look forward to. :)

Fortunately, this is not the case.  God does care about our futures, and he has laws and guidelines that we have to adhere to... but as this scripture says, we have more than one chance.  We can turn from our death sentence and follow the path of life instead.  

The part I like the most is "none of his sins . . . shall be mentioned unto him."  Isn't that amazing?  No guilt-trips in heaven.  If you change, you are accepted as you are, and no one reminds you of who you once were.  With God, when we are forgiven, then everyone lets go of the past sin. :)  ... even us. :)