Wednesday July 6, 2011

I took a long July 4 weekend up to Flagstaff,AZ for some R and R and had a great time up in the pines, ponderosa pines that is. The days were in the 80’s sand the nights were in the 50’s. It took us about 2 hours to drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff and the distance was 135 miles. When I first started driving this route, it seemed to take forever to get there but over the years the trip has become increasingly easier to get there. There is a starting point and an ending point, a specific distance in which you travel. In fact when you travel there is always a starting point and an ending point, wherever you travel on this earth. But what if there were no starting point and no ending point? How far would that distance be? What if I said to you “As far as the east is from the west”, how far would that be? We’re talking about infinity here because there is no starting point and no ending point. It is hard to grasp this concept and yet the Psalmist used this phrase in his writing.

He (God) does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:10-12 NIV) The Psalmist is talking about our sins that separate us from the Lord. There are consequences for our sins that we deserve because of our rebellious nature, actions, and attitudes on a regular basis. It is God’s love for us that stops Him from giving us what we deserve, but takes our sin and removes it from us when we confess it. He takes our confessed sin and removes it as far as the east is from the west. That is infinitely far from us. The writer of Hebrews says that He remembers it no more (Heb. 8:12). Our responsibility is to confess our sin. It means that we need to take responsibility and admit our wrongs without any justification, minimizing, or denying. He then removes it and does not remember our sins of the past that have been forgiven. What a wonderful thought we can have today of a clean slate to follow Him today, looking forward to making healthy decisions for our lives without residual baggage.

On this journey it is important to cut away the excess baggage of the past so that we have energy to take the necessary steps of today.