Cleansed by Christ

Life has been busy lately.  If you're a follower of this blog, I thank you for your patience -- it's been a month since I added new content.  I hope to have a new crop of student writing to feature here in the weeks/months ahead.

In one of my classes, I gave students this essay prompt:

• A friend of yours is struggling with both hatred and self-loathing.  She had dated a guy for three years and they had become close, very serious.  He had always pushed the physical side of their relationship, and eventually she yielded to him and their relationship became a sexual one.  Actually, she also had welcomed that part of the relationship because it made her feel loved and valued.  But then it seemed like the boyfriend tired of her.  She found out he actually was pursuing other women too (including sexually), and then he broke off the relationship with her.  Now she is struggling against constant feelings of hatred toward him, wishing all sorts of evil and harm would happen to him.  And she’s full of shame and disgust with herself, feeling like she will forever be a “slut” (as she now thinks of herself). Write a letter to your friend that talks about repentance and forgiveness and encourages her in her spirit in Jesus.  Help her find a way to move forward with an understanding of how repentance works and how our lives are changed by the gospel of forgiveness in Christ.

The following devotional piece was written in response to the essay prompt.   

Dear Ashley

by Alison Wine

Hey, beautiful!  I'm writing to you because I know how bad things have gotten recently.  It breaks my heart to know how much you are suffering.  I want to remind you of something:  God loves you more than you can understand!  He has loved you with an everlasting love.  No matter what you have done or thought, or felt, God has loved you always.  He sent Jesus to die for all those thoughts, feelings and actions -- for all of your sins.  I know how heavy your heart is about what you had done.  The sorrow you feel is the first step toward repentance.  Now let faith take over.  You are forgiven of all that you have done wrong.  Jesus' blood covers up your every sin.  You are his child.  Period.  Is God's child a slut?  No.  Does God think of you that way?  No.  Should you think of yourself that way?  No.  You are holy and blameless in God's sight.  Rejoice in this fact.  God doesn't need you to be perfect.  He is perfect for you.  You can release the weight you've been carrying around .  Unpin the "scarlet A" from your life.  Throw that stain away.  Look at yourself the way God does -- as his beloved, forgiven child.  And you now may live in that way.
 

Now, Ashley, about Alex.  I understand how angry and hurt you are about what he did.  It is truly terrible.  But does the hatred for him that you are carrying around in your heart help you in any way?  No.  Carrying hatred in your heart is never good.  God tells us not to let the sun go down while we are still angry.  Alex may not be sorry for what he has done, but you don't do him or yourself any good by harboring hatred for him.  What keeps you from letting go of your hatred toward him?  Your pride?  Your sense of justice?  Or your own sinful nature?

Pray about this, Ashley, Forgiving Alex will hurt, but ultimately will make your life better.  Release the hatred from your heart and have that void be filled with Christ.  Take your time; forgiveness doesn't mean you instantly will forget or that what he did doesn't matter.  But it does mean that you are aligning yourself with God's will, and being guided by his love.  

I love you, Ashley, and so does God!

Your friend, 

Ali