Forgiving

Day 8: Our God is Forgiving

"If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand? 4But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared." - Psalm 130:3-4

Sometimes, in my busy, "good little church girl" life, the tendency to think I'm not that bad/not as bad as so-and-so can creep in. Selfishness infiltrates my thoughts, poisons my affections, and diverts my actions.

But here, the Psalmist opens with a clear picture of his unworthy predicament - 'If You kept track of sins, who would survive?!'

That verse alone gives us an awful lot to think about in the form of God's terrifyingly brilliant purety, justice, and holiness. That is at the start of the Gospel - God's holiness and our complete inability to be anything but 100% opposite that purity. But the Psalmist goes on, and really connects to what is at the very heart of the Gospel: the forgiveness of our vile sins. "O Israel," the Psalmist says in v. 7, "hope in the LORD, for with Him there is mercy and abundant redemption." And again, v. 4:

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."

Yeah, we're all miserable enemies. But are we left there? Absolutely not! We're forgiven! God must be pretty big - and pretty powerful - if He can forgive all of us.

The way He accomplished it was the payment of His Son Jesus's perfect life for humanity's sinful ones. The reason? It says here, "That You may be feared."

It would seem that God doesn't forgive us because He loves us more than anything, but because it is the most loving thing He can do for us. Do you see the subtle shift there? It takes the focus from us. It means He loves us because it's in keeping with HIS character (see 1 John 4:8 - God IS love!)...

And this translates to our forgiveness of others as well. Sometimes we (okay, *I*) use our dislike of a person to justify our not forgiving them ("Ugh! Why should I forgive her? She's not even a nice person! She doesn't deserve it!" Etc...). But we see here, with God as our example (and Jesus, both in parables and in deed), that we are to forgive others not because they're swell, but in spite of it - we are to forgive because it's the most loving thing, because forgiving points to God and makes us revere Him. It makes God look good, it makes us more like Him, it mends relationships, it helps us move on, it identifies us with the Father, it forces us to be humble, and all this ultimately results in a "win" for us as we find our complete satisfaction in the only One who can satisfy completely!

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."

Chew on that. Think on that. Imitate it.

That God may be feared.