The simple answer is “through forgiveness”.  But to understand forgiveness, we must first understand two other things:  love and sin. 

In Galatians 5:22-23 we find a list of nine “fruit(s) of the Spirit”, or traits of God that He wants to see grow in us.  Love is first in the list.  Love is that fruit of God’s Spirit that causes us to seek another’s better good.  It’s important that we understand what love is because God is love (1 John 4:16), and as such, he constantly seeks our better good.  He does this by providing Christ, who is his exact representation (Hebrews 1:13).

Sin, on the other hand, is humanity’s falling short of God’s standard of goodness.  It’s an old archery term that means to “miss the mark”.  God knows we can never attain a perfect life.  Paul says in Romans 11:32 that sin is built into our nature: “God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.”  In this sense, God is glorified through our sin because, when we sin and follow it up through repentance, he can shower us with His abundant mercy, or grace.  This does not mean that we are free to practice sin!  Paul also addresses this in Romans 6:1-4, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase?  May it never be!  How shall we who died to sin still live in it?  Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

“So if God is love, will he forgive my sins?”  Yes!  If you believe Jesus is His Son and are baptized into Him. “Will I ever measure up to God’s goodness?”  Not if you attempt to do it on your own; however, if you clothe yourself with Christ through baptism (Galatians 3:27), absolutely!