Do you know what one of the hardest things to say is? “Worcestershire Sauce.” But the second hardest is, “I’m sorry.”

No one likes to say those words, but we all need to because we’ve all done things we must apologize for.

Have you accidentally (but on purpose) hit your brother or sister?

I thought so.

Did you feel bad about it?

Perhaps not at first, but when you saw them crying, you knew your actions were wrong. So you had to say those two very hard words: “Worcestershire Sauce,” err, I mean, “I’m sorry.”

We all need forgiveness.

When you hurt someone or sin against them, you usually feel bad. That little voice in your head that tells you when you’ve done something wrong is called your conscience. You don’t want your conscience yelling at you.

But worse, when you hurt someone, it’s hard to be friends with them.

How do you get you’re your conscience to be quiet? How do you get your friendship back?

By apologizing and asking for forgiveness.

The same thing can happen with God. Did you know that every time you do wrong, you sin against God? That’s right! If you hurt your brother or sister, you’re breaking God’s laws and hurting someone He loves. Your sins against them are also sins against Him.

So how can God forgive you?

Through Jesus.

Paul wrote:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins (Col 2:13 NIV, emphasis added).

Jesus died for all your sins, and God raised Him from the dead as proof that God accepted His sacrifice. When you believe in Jesus, God raises you from the dead and forgives you of all your sins, which Jesus died for.

Through Jesus, God said, “I forgive you”!

Since you’re forgiven, if you’ve hurt someone, go and apologize so that they can forgive you, too.

Send your questions or comments to Shawn.