There Is Forgiveness

Devotional for Sunday, August 31, 1997 by Charles Scobie

If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee,

that thou mayest be feared.

Many people think of God as a judge who has given us a law to follow for our own good (e.g. the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount). If we make the grade we will be rewarded (hopefully the pass mark is not more than 50%); if we flunk the course we're sunk. The psalmist sees only too clearly that if we get what we deserve we cannot stand; we're floored. Our only hope lies in God's forgiveness, something that we see even more clearly than the psalmist did, because we see it demonstrated and actualized in the cross of Christ.

The awareness that God is willing and able to forgive us does not lead to moral complacency, however. It leads to "fearing," i.e. reverencing, respecting, following, obeying God. God's forgiveness doesn't just free us from the past; it frees us for the future.

Prayer: Lord, we are only too well aware of our personal failures and of the failures of your church, of which we are part. Forgive us, we pray, and grant us the grace of a fresh start so that, fearing you, we may gladly serve you all our days. Amen.

Charles Scobie <cscobie@nbnet.nb.ca>
Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada

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