Forgiven and Set Free!

I want to ask you to go with me in your mind to a scene in a court room. There sits a judge and a person who is guilty and about to have judgement passed down on them. There is no question of their guilt, all the evidence is clear and what they are being charged with is exactly what they did. So the question is not a matter of innocence or  guilt, but one of punishment and consequences. So as the person sits there waiting to hear the judge tell them their sentence, they also sit there with regret. They know what they have done, they see the wrong in it and they wish in that very moment that they could go back and change things. They want to say sorry, but at this point it seems to late. However, what they don't know about the judge is that he can see all of these things on their face and he has compassion on them. At a moment when he could tell them that they are going to prison for the rest of their life, he instead tells them that he is going to drop all charges. That he has the power to do so and that is his choice. As he sees the face of the person light up with hope he then proceeds to tell them they are free, but that freedom has to mean something to them. He explains that he is going to erase their record of any wrong that they have committed, but they have to give him their word that they will leave that court room and try to live a different life. They have to look him in the eye and say that it really and truly means something for them to receive this kind of forgiveness, and they do not and will not take it for granted. Then the judge goes on to explain that every time they can't find it in themselves to make the right decision in a situation...every time they are in a situation that looks like something from their past and their first instinct is to react like they would have before...DON'T! And if they need one thing to help them make the right decision in those moments, then to think back on that day when everything they did wrong was forgiven. Take themselves back to the moment when "the judge" had compassion for them and showed them grace and mercy they did not deserve....then let that be the very thing that motivates them to do what is right. Let that be the reason they make the good choice and not fall back into their past ways and decisions. Let their gratitude and appreciation for the fact they were forgiven help them to react out of love and do things differently.
What I have just described is the very thing that happens the moment we meet Jesus....like really meet Jesus. This is the scene that takes place when we come to Him broken and know that we have sin in our lives that could sentence us to hell forever. He is the judge that wants to show us compassion,  grace and mercy. He is the one who wants to erase all the bad decisions we have made, as well as all the bad choices that have hurt our life and the lives of others. He is the one who has the power to give us a fresh start and let us walk away a free person. His power cannot be overthrown by anyone or anything else. Once he slaps the label of forgiven on you, then it is done! However, just like in John 8:11, the one thing He asks of us is to "go and sin no more". And just like I explained above, Jesus knows there will be situations where we will be tempted, we will "feel" like falling back into our old ways and we will mess up. But what He wants us to do is, in that moment, stop and think about the grace you were shown, the forgiveness you were given, the compassion He had on you...and the let the gratitude and appreciation help you make the right choice and do the right thing that would be pleasing in His eyes. But also, the other beautiful thing about Jesus is that He will be there to forgive you when you do mess up. That is not a license to mess up....because the love and gratitude toward Him should change your heart so you won't want to sin, but because we will never be perfect like He was, we will need to go back to Him again and say "sorry, please forgive me". And He will be there with open arms to say "it's why I died for you...".
God's love...the very death of Jesus done out of love for you and I....are not easy things to wrap our heads around. No one will ever be able to show you that kind of love in this lifetime. He made a way for us to live forgiven and set free. His desire is for each of us to spend eternity with Him.....but ultimately the choice is yours. The hard hearted person could have sat in that court room and said back to the judge, "I don't want or need your forgiveness. Send me to prison"....but why? Let God soften the heart, accept His gift of forgiveness and live a life the points others to Him.
God, Thank You that You are a just, yet compassionate judge. That You already made the way for us to receive the forgiveness even before we asked for it. Help us to have the heart to believe, receive and walk in the grace and mercy that You offer to us each and every day of our lives. And may our lives be pleasing in Your eyes and point others to you. In Jesus name, Amen.