My Answer

Q: When I was younger I did some pretty bad things, and the older I get the more guilty I feel over them. I want to ask God for forgiveness, but I haven’t because I honestly don’t believe He’ll forgive me. Why should He? I can’t even forgive myself.

A: God is willing to forgive you for one reason: He loves you. If He hated you, or if He despised you because of what you’ve done, then you wouldn’t have any reason to expect Him to forgive you. But He loves you!

This doesn’t mean God overlooks our sins or pretends they never happened—because He doesn’t. Sin is serious; it is so serious that it sep...