The Boundless Grace of Jesus: Understanding Forgiveness and God’s Patience

Jesus: The Light of the World

John 8:12 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (NIV)

He is the light of the world. We often think of this in the abstract, but John reminds us that it truly applies to everyone. Whoever puts their faith in Jesus will be saved. Their sins will be washed away, completely forgiven, thrown into the sea of forgetfulness. There is no other condition but faith. When a person has faith, the degree of their sins does not matter. Even the most vile acts of violence and perversity are covered by the blood of Jesus. His death was the punishment for all sin. This is the grace of Jesus.

Grace Extends Even to the Wicked

This is a beautiful truth—until we realize that this grace is available even to those who have caused the deepest pain in our lives. It can be difficult to accept that God loves those who have ruined us as much as He loves us. He loves the rapist and the pedophile as much as He loves their victims. He loves the absent father as much as his daughter, and the controlling mother as much as her son. He is the light of the whole world.

It is a hard truth, but the Lord intends for us to find comfort in it.

God’s Justice and Patience

He is still just. His righteousness remains. The Bible says every person will stand before God one day and be held accountable for all they have done. It can feel as though those who hurt us escape justice—but Scripture reminds us of God’s patient plan:

Romans 9:22-23 

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory? (NIV)

God patiently delays the fullness of His judgment even for the most wicked and vile. Yet we can take comfort in this, because it reveals the profound depth of His grace.

Finding Assurance in God’s Grace

Even when we are overwhelmed with guilt and shame over our own sins, seeing His grace extended to those who refuse to repent reminds us of the certainty of His forgiveness toward us. If God can give grace to them, surely He gives grace to those who repent. His patience with the world fills our hearts with absolute confidence that we, who sincerely desire to please God, are forgiven completely and immediately.

Because He is the Light of the whole world, all doubt about our forgiveness is removed—we are fully, completely forgiven.

Prayer

Lord, help me not to be bitter toward those who escape justice, but let me reframe this to know that if You give them grace, I am completely forgiven of all my sin. Amen.