I Corinthians 15:10

“I cannot believe I did that.”

“Why did I say that?  What kind of person am I?”

I Corinthians 15:10 tells us

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me. (abbreviated) NLT

or

But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and by his grace to me was not without effect (abbreviated) NIV

or

And his grace toward me was not in vain (abbreviated) ESV

If you are like me, you are still punishing yourself for your past; what you did, what you said, who you were.  Who we are today in God is what is important, our past is forgiven and forgotten.  Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the son of God, we ask forgiveness for our sins acknowledging that God sent his son to die on the cross to wipe our sin away, and follow God, all our sins, what we have done, who we were, is all forgotten.

In Romans 4:5-8, Paul speaks of forgiveness when he quotes David’s Psalms 32:1-2.  Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! (NLT)

We are forgiven and our sins are forgotten for those whose faith is in God. In II Corinthians 5:21, we are told that: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (NIV).

Our younger selves have done things we abhor, we are ashamed of.  But for those who believe in Christ and ask for forgiveness, that sin is gone.  God gives us grace, even when we do not deserve it, because of his love for us.

Father God, thank you for your love for me, for sending your son to take my sin. Father, forgive me of the times when I have not lived according to your word.  I know I fall short. Thank you for your grace.

Amen.