When I forgive someone, I take the sin against me, I put it in a folder and I save it as an archived file in the back of my brain, right next to my memories of Gilligan’s Island. The person that sinned against me is forgiven, their sin is no longer on my mental desktop, but I am still able to get to that file, take out that sin and shove it in the offender’s face if they sin in that way again. “I know I said I forgave you but in 5th grade you called me a blabbermouth!”

Jesus doesn’t play like that. He doesn’t save your forgiven sin somewhere. Because his death completely pays for all of your sins, and because of his incredible love for you, he deletes the sin—he makes the sin into no sin and sees you as sinless; common Biblical words for this are justified and righteous. But the Biblical word for why Jesus paid for us is the incredible word, grace.

Grace occurs when Jesus uses his blood to permanently delete our sins. 

I sorta understood grace when I got saved at age 12, but I get it much better now that I have lived with myself to age 57. All of that time has allowed me to see how selfish I am. I do selfish stuff all of the time, and that is me with the Holy Spirit inside. I can’t imagine how disgustingly selfish I would have been had I not been saved.

I am acutely aware of how sinful I am, and how I would have absolutely no excuse or defense if I had to go to judgement before God. I deserve to go to hell. So, why do I get to go to heaven? It is because of grace. It doesn’t make any human-sense, so don’t try to figure it out, but grow to recognize it and marvel in it more and more as you mature in Christ. Because of my faith in Jesus, the God of the entire universe deleted all of my sins and because I am now sinless, I deserve to go to heaven. I know myself to be selfish and sinful, other people know me to be that way but God sees me differently. I’m his child now. He loves his children and he finds no fault in them. If you are his, he loves you 100%, which is the same amount that he loves everyone of his children now, in the past and in the future. It is impossible to please God more than you do when you believed and believe in him by faith.

Living with a grace changed attitude results in powerful personal joy and peace.

Recognizing grace in this way has provided more day-to-day joy in my life than anything on this earth. Knowing this, I almost never get sad. I almost never have a bad day. I’m supposed to go to hell, and hell is a really bad place, but I’m not going there. I’m going to heaven. If this thought doesn’t make you happy, then you need to get saved.

Main point: If you have faith in Jesus, and have received his Holy Spirit (contact me if you don't understand) then you are supposed to go to hell but you are going to heaven instead. That is called grace. 

So what: If you really understand grace and let that understanding completely transform your mind, it will also transform your body. You will be at peace and will be happy and kind to everyone.

Please let me know your thoughts.