Forgiveness

Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us."

What a beautiful thing this is to comtemplate, that our sins are removed from us as far as the east is from the west. At the risk of stretching a metaphor too far, isn't it amazing that He tells us they are removed as far as the east is from the west, not as far as the north is from the south? If we travel north far enough, eventually we can go no further north. Standing on the north pole, there is nowhere to go but south. There is a fixed distance, then between the north and the south. It is a long distance, but a finite one.

Yet this is not true when we travel east. We never reach a point where eastward travel must end, and westward travel must start. Any line that we draw on the earth to separate the east and the west is completely arbitrary, whereas the points of ultimate north and ultimate south are determined by the axis of the earth. Hence, the eastward removal of our sins has an infinite quality to it, a permanance.

So then, when we remember sins we have already repented of and laid at the feet of Jesus; when we wallow in our guilt and are stifled by feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy, then we are remembering sins that God does not remember. He has removed them, as far as the east is from the west. He removed them at a great cost to Himself, and He wants us to move on in victory.

Colossians 3:13 says we should forgive others as God has forgiven us. Do we do this? For when we do not, we are asking our unforgiven brother or sister to wallow in guilt for sins that God has removed, and we are ourselves wallowing in them in bitterness.

When sin is dealt with in God's perfect way we are free. We are free to serve Him, using all the strength and talents and wisdom He has given us, knowing that though we often stumble, He will always give us what we need to persevere. Praise be to God for removing our sins from us as far as the east is from the west!

Comments

[Cindy]

Just wanted to let you know that I had to come back and read this again because Nicholas(18) really liked it and wanted me to be sure and read it.

[Faith]

You make a really interesting point about the east and west. Really interesting.

[violet]

Dori, I've been struggling with the need to forgive someone all weekend, now I read this... What you say is so true. When we don't forgive, we're bound in bitterness. When we do, we're free from those preoccupations with self-pity and revenge to use "all the strength and talents and wisdom He has given." This posting has been an exclamation point at the end of a difficult lesson.

[SCSIwuzzy]

Dory,
I like it. Saved it off to my PDA. :)
Violet,
Prior to this, I always read Blake's Poison Tree to help me move past being angry with someone.

[Danny C]

Isn't it sometimes wrong to forgive? A friend was angry when I complimented the Amish attitude torward the killer of their children. The retort was that it's wrong to forgive the unrepentant.