I’ve met folks over the years who carry around a heavy trunk of past regrets. They drag it behind them everywhere they go. Even though they’ve asked God for forgiveness, they still bring up their old blunders, replay their worst mistakes, and beat themselves up over things that happened decades ago.

They believe God can forgive other people, but they quietly suspect He’s still keeping an active file on their own past.

Jesus told a wonderful story in Luke 7 about a woman known across town as a notorious sinner. She walked right into a dinner party, knelt down at Jesus’ feet, washed His feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. The host was horrified, but Jesus looked past her history and saw her repentance.

Then He spoke words that changed her life forever:

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.'”

Luke 7:47-48

If you tallied up your mistakes over a lifetime—even just one slip-up a day—the number would be staggering. If God kept a running ledger, we’d all be in deep trouble.

But that isn’t how God’s mercy operates. When God forgives you in Christ, He doesn’t just put your mistakes on probation. He wipes the slate clean. He doesn’t look at you through the lens of your worst day; He sees you as His beloved child, redeemed and restored.

If the Almighty God has chosen to forgive your past, maybe it’s time you put down that heavy trunk and forgive yourself, too.

Is there a past failure you keep holding against yourself that God has already wiped clean?