Everyone has experienced times in their life when they desperately needed forgiveness for past mistakes. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t focus on forgiveness, but on guilt and condemnation for the sins we know we’ve committed. Sin causes us to concentrate on our past failures and shortcomings, and it drains us of all hope. At the very point where we’re weary of feeling punished by our past, God offers us forgiveness and reconciliation.

When we hit rock bottom and we’re ready to see improvement in our life, Jesus welcomes us back. One of the best illustrations of this is the Bible story of the woman caught in adultery. When Jesus was teaching in the temple and the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman to Him, they asked Him what punishment she should receive. However, Jesus refused to condemn her, instead telling her to “go, and sin no more” (John 8:1-11).

Every action has a corresponding consequence, and sometimes the situation we find ourselves in is the result of the poor choices we’ve made. Sin can be seen as a spiritual sickness, and there’s a connection between what we choose to think and how it eventually can affect our physical body. Jesus had compassion on the man by the Pool of Bethesda and healed him, but later lovingly warned him to clean up his act. “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’” (John 5:14, NKJV).

This tells us that God is indeed ready to forgive when we’re truly remorseful for our sins, but we have some responsibility in this area as well. The expectation is that we must change our way of thinking, which in turn results in a change in behavior. This is what repentance is all about. The letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians explains what repentance leads to. “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:9, 10, NKJV).

God takes great joy in seeing individuals who were previously overwhelmed by a sinful lifestyle repent and change their mind. Jesus told several parables to illustrate this point, using examples people could identify with, like sheep and coins (Luke 15:4-10). Probably one of His most powerful parables was about the son who chose a lifestyle that drew him far away from his father. When the son repented, returned home, and asked forgiveness for his sins, the father welcomed him back (Luke 15:11-31).

The boy’s older brother was jealous at the joyful homecoming, and refused to join in the celebration. This is similar to the world’s reaction at seeing a lost soul finding forgiveness and reconciliation when they turn back to God. The world doesn’t know anything about God’s amazing love, so it’s not surprising that some new Christians experience the same type of anger and hostility that this young man faced when he meekly returned home.

We won’t find forgiveness for our faults and shortcomings from anyone but Jesus, Who welcomes us back the same way a loving father welcomes back a long-lost child. The key is to walk away from sin and walk toward Him. It’s up to us whether or not to accept the olive branch of peace God is holding out to us.