Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Jesus Christ who forgives our sins
Psalms 25Vs 6 and 7: Remember, O Lord, your kindness and constant love which you have shown from long ago. Forgive the sins and errors of my youth. In your constant love and goodness,remember me, Lord!
Psalm 25 is merely titled a Psalm of David. We do not know the precise time period it came from; David was so often in trouble that it could have been from several different aspects of his life. It is a wonderful display of the heart of a well-taught believer in a season of crisis.He longs for God to come and help him. David longs for God to come and vanquish his enemies. David understands that only God can save him from shame. It is conceivable that David is suffering at the hands of his enemies because of sin; he says, “Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions” (v 7). Even if David is not suffering because of sin, David understands that it is God and only God who has the power to come to his help. It is only God who has the power to conquer enemies
What is the basis of God’s forgiveness? Nothing but God’s own character. The psalmist David is open and vulnerable before God and there is no pretense or denial. His guilt is great. The Old Testament tells us not only of David’s accomplishments but also of his sins and failures. We see the human side of the Biblical characters and with David this is especially true. The man after God’s own heart was also a sinner.
God meets us where we are ,even in our sin and guilt to lead us on into the life of righteousness and peace. God meets us where we are, but God does not leave us where we are. As verse 8 says: “God instructs sinners in the way.” Those who have respect for God are taught how to choose correctly. God leads us forward into the way of life. Jesus states it in the Gospel of John in terms of love rather than fear: he says, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.”
We are in need of being taught and are not purely instinctive creatures knowing from birth our role and place in life. We require instruction. We look to God to teach us the way.In Scripture, prayer and in the community of faith and in the experience of life we gain wisdom that, then, guides our choices. The God we meet in Scripture is a God who forgives and teaches. The only hope we have of finding and living in the life of forgiveness is to be met and forgiven and instructed by this God.
Forgiveness, in that sense, is freeing and liberating, it means letting go so that the things that have been done to us, so they do not shape us or distort our character. It means finding freedom. It is wonderful, but by no means easy.
But, there is also another level upon which forgiveness is difficult. It is hard to forgive ourselves. We disappoint ourselves. We don’t live up to our own highest ideals. Our errors and our sins and our obsessions and our addictions are an embarrassment even to ourselves. Forgiveness is problematic in every way. We talk about it freely and can hardly help it since it is such a central theme in the Christian faith but living it is difficult.
We can only travel down the road of forgiveness when we trust in a forgiving God. It is the character of the God we trust that shapes our character. We learn to forgive by following Jesus Christ — who lived out the life of forgiveness and trust.
What is the basis of God’s forgiveness? Nothing but God’s own character. The psalmist David is open and vulnerable before God and there is no pretense or denial. His guilt is great. The Old Testament tells us not only of David’s accomplishments but also of his sins and failures. We see the human side of the Biblical characters and with David this is especially true. The man after God’s own heart was also a sinner.
God meets us where we are ,even in our sin and guilt to lead us on into the life of righteousness and peace. God meets us where we are, but God does not leave us where we are. As verse 8 says: “God instructs sinners in the way.” Those who have respect for God are taught how to choose correctly. God leads us forward into the way of life. Jesus states it in the Gospel of John in terms of love rather than fear: he says, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.”
We are in need of being taught and are not purely instinctive creatures knowing from birth our role and place in life. We require instruction. We look to God to teach us the way.In Scripture, prayer and in the community of faith and in the experience of life we gain wisdom that, then, guides our choices. The God we meet in Scripture is a God who forgives and teaches. The only hope we have of finding and living in the life of forgiveness is to be met and forgiven and instructed by this God.
Forgiveness, in that sense, is freeing and liberating, it means letting go so that the things that have been done to us, so they do not shape us or distort our character. It means finding freedom. It is wonderful, but by no means easy.
But, there is also another level upon which forgiveness is difficult. It is hard to forgive ourselves. We disappoint ourselves. We don’t live up to our own highest ideals. Our errors and our sins and our obsessions and our addictions are an embarrassment even to ourselves. Forgiveness is problematic in every way. We talk about it freely and can hardly help it since it is such a central theme in the Christian faith but living it is difficult.
We can only travel down the road of forgiveness when we trust in a forgiving God. It is the character of the God we trust that shapes our character. We learn to forgive by following Jesus Christ — who lived out the life of forgiveness and trust.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us to be compassionate and forgiving to others, just as you forgave our sins.
Thought for the Day
Psalms 103:10-12. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Anish Thomas
Mar Thoma Church of Greater Washington
Mar Thoma Church of Greater Washington