As I sat down to write about the next part of the creed, I realized that I have talked about sin and forgiveness of sin a lot.

• I wrote about Jesus and a sinner, a woman from a different culture and life than Jesus.
• I wrote about the hard work of repenting, the process of turning around, of rebuilding relationship.
• I wrote about Good Friday and the forgiveness in the middle of excruciating pain  I wrote about the same thing in Like God.
• I wrote about Patrick’s forgiveness in going to Ireland, the land where he had been held captive (About the saint in Patrick).
• I wrote about five ways that David journaled his prayer, including asking for forgiveness.
• I wrote about the importance of personally acknowledging my sin (I did it).
• I wrote about the Mary who poured perfume on the feet of Jesus (It’s okay to not know everything) in gratitude.
• I wrote a whole series on the part of Matthew 18 where Jesus talks about how to handle sin in the context of church. (It’s here in one document: Matthew 18)

As I looked through these posts I see that apparently I believe in sin. That’s the first part of this clause. In order to believe in the forgiveness of sin, there has to be something to forgive, there has to be something more than a mistake, a slip up, an error. We’ve got to see that there is something that was wrong.

And then that there is someone that was wronged. someone who deserved right.

And then that the person wronged has the capacity to forgive.

And then that the person wronging asks for forgiveness.

It’s not complicated, this forgiveness of sin I believe it. But it’s often quite hard. Because it means I’m the one who wrongs.