The Big Relief | Guilt Trip? There's Relief for Tha!
Relief from Guilt
John 10:11-18
October 12, 2025
Rev. Teer Hardy
You have heard it in the voice that says, “If I can just feel terrible long enough, maybe I’ll prove I’m sorry enough.”
But guilt doesn’t purify you; it just punishes you.
It keeps you circling the wound instead of seeking the healer. Feeling bad is not the same thing as being made new. But guilt only knows one trick—accusation.
It can name your failure, but cannot free you from it.
Grace, on the other hand, feels conspicuously easy.
Surely, we must do something—a little spiritual penance, a touch of self-loathing—to make things square.
But the Good Shepherd does not drive His sheep with shame; He leads them with love.
Relief begins the moment you stop trying to atone for what has already been forgiven.
You are not the hired hand’s responsibility. You are the Good Shepherd’s joy.
