Most psychologists will tell you that unresolved guilt accounts for a large number of psychological and psychiatric problems. People try to deny their guilt, and they live in fear of having their sins discovered. All of us grapple with guilt. But Jesus wants to remove any guilt we feel. The Bible says that when we come to Him in faith, Jesus Christ will “cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Heb. 9:14) Our God is a good and loving God. He knows all our guilt and He wants to take it away.

Not everyone can accept this, though. I was once on a call-in radio show in England. A man told me about a good friend of his from a strict religious home who had “an A-grade in guilt.” I told him that Christ comes to remove our guilt, and the host didn’t buy it. “Sorry, Luis,” he said, “That’s an easy way out, it seems to me.” He thought it sounded too easy. Well, it wasn’t easy for Christ to remove our sins, dying as our substitute on the cross. It also isn’t easy for most of us to accept that gift.

Our culture says we need to fix our own mistakes, grovel to be forgiven, and pay our penance. Jesus doesn’t want us to grovel in the dirt; he wants to lift us from the pit where we put ourselves and help us to soar. Then we can serve the living God and help change people through Jesus Christ - guilt-free and filled with joy.            

This is Luis Palau.