If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:3-4
The answer, no one. Without the merciful forgiveness of God, there is no hope, no standing, for any man.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
What does God’s forgiveness look like?
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; Psalm 103:8-17
Does our forgiveness towards one another resemble God’s? Do we deal with one another after one another’s sins? Are we plenteous in mercy? Do we remember that we are all dust? Do we remove transgressions as far as east is from west?
He remembereth that we are dust. He knows and can see every flaw, He hears every biting remark by mouth or by heart, He sees that inkling thought of rebellion against His holy way even before it manifests itself!!
ReplyDeleteWe are DUST!!!!!
And yet, with such TENDERNESS He cares after us, loves us, guides us, protects us, nurtures us, feeds us, is beyond patient in His dealings with us... would we all have such care for our fellow Christian, if not all people, and the House of God would be holy indeed!
I like Ezekiel 16 and the picture of God's love for Israel. He found her, a naked, bloody, unwashed baby who had been thrown into a field and simply, hatefully, forgotten. He took her, washed her, and gave her beautiful garments and bedecked her with jewels. As she grew, she became haughty and trusted in her own beauty. God disciplined her, but STILL promised His covenant. The reality of this is that we are all as that child--all our goodness and blessings are from the Lord, and it is preposterous to assume we deserve it, or that we are any better than any other person.