6 The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
Reflection
As Christians do we believe that God takes our sin and forgets it, acts like it never happened? We know this to be one of the tenants of our faith. Don’t we tell people who are questioning our faith or maybe new to faith that if you are willing to put your trust and faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and admit that you have sinned and are sorry for that sin, God washes it away – throws it out into the ether and it disappears. We can sin again and again and God does and will continue to forgive us. These verses and others remind us that God will forgive and because God forgives, so should we.
Now, let me turn this around a bit. Do we ever use these verses and others like them to take some retaliatory measures against someone who has wronged us, or to lie to someone, or to just do something because some days it just feels like everyone else is doing something that isn’t great, so why shouldn’t we? Does knowing that we will be forgiven afterward make us less discerning about doing something we know is probably not the best decision but may bring us a bit of satisfaction in the short term? I have to admit I definitely do things I should not do, and frequently I will pray and ask for forgiveness later. Those things may be eating food that I know is not good for me or buying something I do not need but think “I love those shoes!” There are times I lash out or start an argument just because I am in the mood to argue. Is that right? Of course not, but am I human and is that what humans do sometimes? Yes, that is the reason, but I think we sometimes use that as an excuse to take ourselves off the hook. It is certainly a fine line.
Do you know people who go by the theory that it is “easier to ask forgiveness than permission”? I’ve worked with church leaders on mission trips who used that ideology. Frequently it was about how to spend money that was designated for a project, but they decided mid-week that they liked another project better, so the original planned project got bumped or lessened for the other one. Now one could argue that it is all for the good, so does it matter? These are possibly small matters, but it is something to consider as we try to discern decisions and questions in our own lives.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
Can you think of a time when you took advantage of the fact that you would be forgiven for something you were very aware that you shouldn’t have done? How did that feel? What can we do to better discern which direction we should go? Sometimes it is as simple as literally stopping ourselves for a minute and waiting – asking God if this is really the right thing and just that little break and prayer may lead you in another direction.
Prayer: God of forgiveness, we thank you for forgiving all of our many mistakes. Jesus, help us to remember your sacrifice for us and to not be so quick to just do something in the moment that we know is not the best decision for our life. When we do make mistakes, give us wisdom to correct those and to ask forgiveness of you and anyone we may have hurt – including ourselves. In your precious name, Amen.
