"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins."

                                                                        1 John 1:9

On the morning of their wedding, Tim wrapped a special gift for each of his fiancé’s two children and delivered them with a handwritten note. For the boy he chose a watch, and for the nine-year-old little girl he bought a pair of birthstone amethyst earrings. Both of the children truly appreciated the gift and what it meant.

While Tim and his wife honeymooned overseas, the children stayed with family back home. The little girl wore her earrings day and night, never taking them off. But one day, somewhere between the pool, the house, and the beach, one of the stones fell out of the earring. A massive search took place, every chair and sofa cushion overturned, every inch of the path scoured, even the little girl’s aunt dove deep down into the pool. But the stone was gone.

Soon after the couple arrived home, the little girl called her mother aside and confided in her what had happened. The mother could tell the little girl dreaded telling her new stepfather for fear that she would disappoint him. In fact, she seemed more upset about disappointing him than losing the earring itself. The mother told her daughter to take her time and tell her stepfather when she was ready. Privately, she let Tim know what had happened, and they stayed quiet, waiting to see how the little girl would handle it.

Just a few days later, the little girl came penitently into the room and nervously told her stepfather what had happened. The moment she was through explaining and apologizing, her stepfather pulled a tiny package out of his pocket and put it in her hand. Then he hugged her and told her he loved her.

The little girl unwrapped the gift box and in it was a new set of shiny purple amethysts earrings, even bigger than the first ones. Tim had prepared the second gift for her before she summoned the courage to confess to him what had happened. Indeed, it seemed the second gift was even more meaningful than the first.

God is waiting to forgive our sins, our mistakes, our accidents. And He is waiting with a gift greater than the first gift of life. He is offering a new life, that we be born again, a life that He gave the life of His Son for so that we could know forgiveness.

Talk with God today. Ask for forgiveness for your sins. And know the joy of grace that frees us.

"Forgive us our sins, Father, and bring us into the promise of a new life found through the blood of Calvary .  In Jesus' name, AMEN."