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b'Carrying the bag of groceries on my head seemed like a good idea at the time. But when the glass jar of mayonnaise slipped out of the sack and landed on the brick sidewalk, I immediately regretted that decision.\\nGrowing up, my family\\u2019s home sat on a piece of land that bordered my grandfather\\u2019s farmland. That hot summer day, a team of men were working in the pastures. My mother planned to prepare lunch for them. We\\u2019d just returned from the grocery store with loaves of bread, sliced meat, cheese, and other fixings to make sandwiches for the farm helpers. I left the car carrying a full bag of food, but I left behind a broken, splattered jar of mayonnaise before I stepped on our front porch.\\nUnderstandably, my mom expressed disappointment in the loss of the lunch condiment. I don\\u2019t remember how we replaced the mayonnaise for the meal that day, but I do remember how I struggled to overcome the sense of disapproval, and I wondered how I could earn forgiveness.\\nWith our Heavenly Father, though, we never have to earn forgiveness\\u2014no matter the magnitude of our mistakes. The lunches we accidentally ruin, the acts of rebellion we commit on purpose, the good work we should do but don\\u2019t\\u2026God\\u2018s mercy to us is sufficient to cover it all. His forgiveness of us in His Son, Jesus, is given freely, a gift we never have to earn\\u2014because we never can earn it.\\nIn God\\u2019s holiness, He disapproves of our sin. But in His love for us, God offers complete, secure forgiveness in Christ. The just payment for our wrongdoing cost Jesus His life. But His death on the cross is bestowed on us as a free gift as we confess our need for the resurrected Redeemer to save us. \\u2022 Allison Wilson Lee\\n\\u2022 What in your life causes you to doubt God\\u2019s forgiveness? \\n\\u2022 Have you ever thought there are sins God won\\u2019t forgive? Why or why not? \\n\\u2022 How does the certainty of God\\u2019s forgiveness for those who trust in Jesus encourage you? \\n\\u2022 To learn more about what it means to receive the gift of God\\u2019s forgiveness through Jesus, check out our \\u201cKnow Jesus\\u201d page.\\nYou, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5 (NIV)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nNumbers 21:4-9; Matthew 18:2-4; John 3:1-21; Romans 3:23-25'