Forgiveness, Part II

In the following quote, Dave Harvey shares an example of true forgiveness at work between a couple that was torn apart by the sin of adultery, and then reunited by God's saving grace at work in their hearts. As I read through this amazing story of God at work in the hearts of His people, it is a reminder to me that it is truly only by His grace that any of us are saved, that any of us do not fall into greater sin than we do. Here, the husband who committed the sin speaks about his experience coming back to his wife and starting over:

Our story is one of God's faithfulness to an unfaithful sinner. The depth of my sin stands in stark contrast to the inexhaustable glory of God's grace. From this tragedy, I know in a unique way that no one is ever too far removed from the grace of God.

It took years for God to restore our marriage. Though the memory of our dark years will never be erased, there is an undeniable cleansing of the past. When scripture says that the Lord will restore the years that the locusts have eaten, I feel as if that passage was written with us in mind. ...I know this is only possible because of the shed blood of our Savior. He has given me a righteousness not my own which overwhelms all my sin.

...I wish so many things were different. I wish I had never committed adultery and caused such pain. I wish that I could tell my children that I had been faithful to my wife from the day we were married. However, because of my sin, these are only wishes. And ultimately, my wishes pale in comparison to God's plan. I will likely never know in this lifetime why God chose to use my sin to get us to where we are now. However, we are beyond asking those questions because they are eclipsed by the glory of God's forgivenss and blessing. By God's grace we no longer look back with regret but rather forward with anticipation to what he has called us to do.

The memories remain, yet they no longer influence our lives. Each year, our marriage is sweeter and more satisfying than the one before. By fixing our eyes on the Savior, he has done far more abundantly than all we could ask or think. How amazing is that?!