Unfathomable Forgiveness

Then when I make atonement for you, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord. --Ezekiel 16:63

Sometimes I think that Christians trivialize the whole concept of having our sins forgiven. We go through each day committing numerous sins; then, at the end of the day, have the gall to offer up a flippant prayer saying "forgive my sins from today". We have a tendency to use God's grace and mercy in the plan for our salvation as a type of "Get out of Jail free card". We fail to recognize the the gravity of our mistakes and the consequences of our sins, because, afterall, God will make it right again if we ask him to, won't he?

God never stops forgiving us. He never ceases to give us second chances. However, if we never pause to think about the incredible power of God's forgiveness, we take advantage of the forgiving nature of God. If God exercised forgiveness in the same manner that humans do, no one would ever be forgiven. That thought is very humbling.

Not only does God forgive us when we mess up, he forgets! How amazing would it be if we could do that. We forget little things like people's names, phone numbers and where we put our car keys, but we seldom forget the times that someone has wronged us. The ability that God has to completely forget our sins is amazing to me.

There is a song by the Christian band, The Waiting, that talks about how it is perfectly believable and comprehendible that God can make the rivers flow and to speak the light into existence, but it is unfathomable that he can forgive and forget. I am humbled by the fact that I have wronged my Lord so many times, yet he forgets each one. That is a sobering thought, and a solemn one.