Here at the Lord’s table, we celebrate Jesus’ victory on the cross, when he won forgiveness for our sin.  To look at this further, please think for a moment of what you remember of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who features in the book of Daniel.

 Chapter 3 tells of three young Israelites – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – who refused to bow down to worship a golden idol.  King Nebuchadnezzar was furious with them and ordered their death in a fiery furnace, so hot that it killed the soldiers who took them up to the furnace.  Yet the three Israelites were protected by an angel of God and were not harmed.

That was my memory of King Nebuchadnezzar.

So, I was very surprised when reading a Christian book to see him praised as a model example for us all to follow!

But I found he was the first to see the miracle of the three men walking unharmed in the furnace.  He immediately understood and repented of what he had done, and praised God.  He was given the honour of writing a chapter of the bible; chapter 4 of Daniel is his proclamation of the greatness of God to his entire kingdom.  And that is the last of what we are told about him.

 Yet my memory, and that of people I have spoken to, was of the raging king who ordered the three Israelites into the fiery furnace.

This shows that in that part of us which is our fallen human nature, we remember the sins of people, while God sees their repentance and their turning to him.  With our limited vision we may be tempted to think we have sin which is unforgiveable, which stops us from being acceptable to God.  But that is to doubt the power of Jesus victory on the cross, and if we hold onto our sin it will weigh us down and stop us from doing God’s will, as we try to justify our deeds.

To trust in Jesus means to truly repent before God, and to allow His Spirit to convince us of the forgiveness that Jesus has won for us; and with that personal assurance of forgiveness through Jesus, we are set free to follow Him, as he leads us away from sin along his path for us.

And as we live in the joy of God’s forgiveness, we are also freed to take delight in seeing others repent and receive His forgiveness, especially those who have wronged us. So, forgiving others from the heart is yet another gift from God.

At our Lord’s table now, we follow the model example of King Nebuchadnezzar, as we repent of our sin, and witness to God’s greatest miracle of all – of Jesus victory on the cross.  All are welcome to this meal, all you need is a hunger for God’s forgiveness, which is freely given to you through Jesus.