Forgiveness

I've been reading 1 and 2 Chronicles this past couple of weeks and a verse jumped out at me.

2 Chron 30:18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart on seeking God — the Lord, the God of his fathers — even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. NIV

What really struck me was the phrase, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God." And the Lord heard Hezekiah!

These people had broken the rules-- they ate the Passover without purifying themselves in an eagerness to seek God. Instead of saying, "You're not doing it right", Hezekiah seeks grace from the face of God.

Too many stand as gatekeepers to the fellowship of the saints saying, "You're doing it wrong" rather than praying for the grace of God to be shed on the eager believers.