Forgiveness and Freedom
(Luke 23:33?34, 39?43)

It is the Passion week that commemorates the suffering of Jesus on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross, Jesus left the Seven Last Words of Jesus. The first saying is to forgive them. The grace of the cross starts from that of getting rid of our sins and forgiveness.

1. The grace of forgiveness
The reason why Jesus was on the cross and shed his precious blood is to forgive all our sins. (Ep. 1:7) We were born with sins, so we have to be dead because of sins. However, Jesus who is innocent was sacrificed on the cross to forgive our sins. Just like Jesus loved and forgave us unconditionally we should forgive the faults and wrongdoings of our siblings and neighbors with the love of Jesus. We should remember the grace of forgiveness of God and so that we can share and spread the grace of God.

2. The grace of salvation
The only way for us to reach the salvation is to believe in Jesus. (Jn 14:6) The way the thief next to Jesus on the cross was saved was for him to receive Jesus as his personal savior. No matter how good he is and how rich and powerful he is, he cannot be saved without believing in Jesus. Therefore, the most important thing we should have while living is to have faith in Jesus. Looking at Jesus through repentance, the words of God and prayer before God, allows us to have the faith leading us to the salvation.

3. Forgiveness and freedom
God endows those who believe in Jesus to have the blessing of heaven. There are no tear, diseases, and hatred in heaven. On the contrary, there are peace, joy, and freedom. (Rom 14:17) The heaven is not limited to the life after death. Jesus told the thief to remain in heaven today. (Lk. 23:43) We can own heaven emotionally, physically, and spiritually from the moment we start believing in Jesus so that we can experience heaven in this land while we are living. Now, we are living as the citizens of the kingdom of God, enjoying the real freedom and blessing of God. We should live our lives enjoying the real freedom through the amazing grace of the cross.