There is something within me that has opposed guilt for as long as I can remember. As I got older, I understood better this repulsion and soon enough I could articulate it, putting my finger precisely on the offending emotion.

In my past year, in relationship with Jesus, I have learned many lessons and truths connected to guilt. I love Romans 8:1 that says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." In an entry about the PASSION concert in Toronto, I mentioned that Louis Giglio had reminded us that "shame is over with" (shame here I equate with guilt for the sake of argument) and the revelation struck me hard though I know this as a truth. There is something marvellous about shame - as in it makes me marvel - where it can take over your whole being and turn you into a very sorry and sad creature. Many men on Earth walk in shame, some are aware of it, others are not yet so, because inherently we know when something has gone wrong in our lives. You might love pornography and feel great when you access it but, at some point, you will feel dirty and regretful beyond belief, left only with the options of denial, self-pity or more pornography - or perhaps all three combined. Some of us become ashamed of our arrogance or pride when we realize that we are utterly alone because of how much we boast. Some are shamed by a choice to reject the chuch (in whatever sense you recognize that), with the desire to return marred by the assurance that they blew their chances BIG TIME. (For the record, the deadline for getting right with the church - in the Body-of-Christ sense; it's not a building - is the end of life on earth as we know it. I don't know when that is. To be honest, I hope it is not very soon but I can tell you that the church is waiting anxiously for your return so don't let ANY man reject you or make you jump through hoops. There is no membership fee, no initiation process, no medical exam and no sales person will visit. There is instead an unconditional, perpetually open-ended invitation to join.)

What makes shame so beautiful - the only way it can be beautiful - is when it is taken away. It brings much glory. Shame is not relieved when an action is undone or an atoning counter-action is made. Shame is removed when forgiveness arrives and the official, permanent record is torn into 1000 pieces and burned. This is freedom and oh, it tastes sweet.

I posted something four weeks ago ["an exerpt (3)"], cropped from and email, about the difference between guilt and conviction because I am a firm believer that you should not make moral decisions, act kindly to your brother, worship or evangelize out of guilt because you "know it is right." These things should be done out of something similar to love or selflessness. I enjoy making absolute statements (or more accurately, fine-tuning statements into absolution) and I also enjoy find exceptions to every/any rule. While sitting in my Physics class last week, I tried to think of something that would be rightly motivated by guilt. My instinct was to say "nothing" but that seemed far too trite. My conclsuion was that the only thing that should be motivated by guilt is grace. If you have received divine grace before, you will not let guilt sit for very long before you usher it out with some unconditional forgiveness (or at least you should not let it sit). But, if you have never experienced the "You know what? Forget the dents you put in my car, here's $5000 and a newer car" gift then understand: you will not find yourself trapped in self-loathing, self-pity and self-abuse longer than it takes to say, "God, wipe my slate clean."

I suppose that more guilt makes for more grace and more gratitude but that is a different story for another day.