In 2009 William L. Calley, the only U.S. Army officer convicted of the 1968 slaying of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai, made an extraordinary public apology.
Calley was a young Army lieutenant when he was court-martialed for his part in the massacre of 500 men, women, and children. In his confession he said, “There’s not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai.”
Guilt can be a terrible burden to bear. Someone called guilt “a permanent hangover from sin.” What can we do about our past sins? You can’t unbreak a glass, or unscramble an egg, or unsay a word. Our only hope is the forgiveness of God and of others.
If you are weighted down by guilt over past mistakes, I’ve got good news for you. The Bible says, “Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus and your sins will be ‘blotted’ out" (Acts 3:19). The word blotted means “to erase.” God has a big eraser and it doesn’t leave any smudges. The best news of all is this: When it comes to sin, Jesus came to rub it out, not rub it in.