Ps 103:1212 "As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
I became a Christian at a very young age, and I think because of that I have often taken forgiveness for granted. Not that I intentionally sin because I know that I will be forgiven, but instead not acknowledging the amazing grace that there is in forgiveness ….until today. When asking for forgiveness from sins I often find myself listing off things I know where I have failed, Lord forgive me for gossiping etc. Today however as I searched my heart, I realized that I had to ask forgiveness for not placing God first in my life, which is not the first time I have had to confess this, it’s almost every day (which I’m ashamed to admit, the truth does hurt). But today it was different because it hit me that God is forgiving me, for not choosing him! He is forgiving me for the times in my life that I choose everything but him! Especially the things in life that are inanimate objects and have no real purpose such as books and television! Even though, everything that I own and do, the gifts that I have, life itself and ultimately eternity, all of that - I have because of Christ. And even through my foolishness of not always making Him the priority in my life, He still forgives. He still extends his grace. He still loves me. And Oh how much we don't deserve it! My prayer is that we not forget the amazing gift God gives to us in forgiveness no matter the sin, how big or how small it may seem as well as the price that was paid by Christ in our place for us to receive it. In Eph 1:7-8, Paul writes, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." I love this verse because of the word lavish. Though I'm not a Greek scholar, the Greek word for lavish is perisseuo, which means to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous. What an amazing word picture of God pouring out his forgiveness on our lives. What an amazing God we serve!
