June 15
Scripture: John 8:36
Source author: Tricia Propson
June 15
The Weight of Guilt So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. —John 8:36
He was barely twenty, but guilt weighed him down as if he were eighty. Hunched and shuffling, the metal bracelet on his ankle confirmed that this man knew agony. I had just finished telling the group of inmates my painful story of childhood sexual abuse. He urgently approached me as if I alone could relieve his burden. A wounded child himself, he had raped his neighbor and was serving his sentence. Tortured with remorse, he desperately wanted to apologize to the young girl and her family. But a restraining order forced him to wear his guilt like an anchor. Though I relived my own traumatic assaults through his tearful confession, God’s love overpowered my anger and confusion. I heard myself say, “I’ll be your victim. Tell me what you need to tell her.” He sobbed with regret as his apology pierced my wounded heart. Two broken hearts collided. God showed me how to forgive him. We prayed. He smiled and simply said, “Thank you.” The weight of his guilt was gone: God’s love set us both free.
One courageous act of obedience can release people from bondage through God’s love and the miracle of forgiveness. — Tricia Propson —