Occasionally, I will notice, usually on Facebook, one of those lists where you add up how many times you have or haven’t done something. The list might include such things as flown on a plane, gotten a ticket, bungee jumped, and so on. When I think about such things, I realize that there are a number of things I’ve managed to avoid in life. I haven’t bungee jumped, I haven’t spent a night in jail, I haven’t met the President, and I could continue. Those are things I just haven’t managed to do.
During this season of Lent, I have been thinking about the great sacrifice that Christ made in going to the Cross, where he died for my sins and your sins, for the sins of the world. It got me to thinking about some things that God has not managed to do as well.
God has not managed to find a sin he would not forgive. I think we need to admit that sin is serious business. Traditionally, the seven deadly sins are said to be envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth and wrath. That’s a pretty depressing list! Nor is it all the Bible identifies. A list that Jesus gives is found in Mark 7:20-23: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come - sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” So there is a great variety of sins. But God is willing to forgive every one of those. 1 John 1:9 is only one example of God’s willingness to forgive: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Friends, God is willing to confess any sin that we are willing to confess to him! What a wonderful promise.
God has also not managed to find a sinner he could not redeem. God has a wholistic view of humanity.
Not only will he forgive sins, he will totally transform the person who turns to him so that they need not sin any longer! God is the ultimate change agent.
As 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Springs in the Valley, by Lettie Cowman, is a sequel to the better-known devotional classic Streams in the Desert. Springs in the Valley tells of “Sir Edwin Landseer, who was one of the most famous painters of the Victorian era. His talent developed early, and he had the first showing of his work at the Royal Academy when he was just thirteen years old. He was commissioned to do a number of official portraits of the royal family, and even gave private drawing lessons to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. But he was best known for his depictions of the natural settings and life in the Scottish highlands.
One day as he was visiting a family in an old mansion in Scotland, one of the servants spilled a pitcher of soda water, leaving a large stain on the wall.
While the family was out for the day, Landseer remained behind. Using charcoal, he incorporated the stain into a beautiful drawing. When the family returned they found a picture of a waterfall surrounded by trees and animals. He used his skill to make something beautiful out of what had been an unsightly mess.” God is just like Landseer the painter. He is able to take brokenness we bring to him and make something beautiful of it.
