Forgiven?

Through this process [sacrifice], the priest will purify the people, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven. [Leviticus 4.20b]

I think one of the most haunting things any person faces today is not knowing he or she is forgiven.  By "haunting" I mean not really and truly having the full and complete assurance that all is well - that all is genuinely and eternally forgiven. 

I believe this is where believers in Christ fall far short of the devotion to Him that is necessary.  "Salvation" is presented with technical perfection to people almost daily - and certainly most every Sunday (or Saturday for some) at church services the world over.  But I fear that perhaps we are missing the point - the relationship with Christ. 

Although the Old Testament sacrifices were painstakingly tedious, those who offered them had the real-life, real-time, hands-on experience to relate to - they knew that, upon completion, they were forgiven.  I fear that we have no ownership (placing our own hands on His head) in Jesus' sacrificial death on our behalf.  Consequently, I fear that we, for the most part, do not experience real forgiveness. 

Wow.

Father, I am all too guilty of not "putting my hands on Jesus' head" and realizing my part - my fault - in His sacrificial death.  And as a result, I find myself less-than-convinced much of the time that I am actually forgiven.