Daily Meditation: “The Sea Of Forgetfulness”

SCRIPTURE:

Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. - Psalm 25:7

REFLECTION:

I doubt there are any of us that didn’t get rebellious in our youth (on a spectrum, of course). While I saved my true rebellious nature (which was still rather lame) until I went to college, I did take the car on a longer route once than just “to your friend’s house and back” as my Dad directed. That trip saw me get the car stuck up to the bumper in mud, as well as driving privileges taken away for a week or something. I doubt my Dad remembers that, but I sure do.

There’s a place in our brains where we remember the ways we’ve “missed the mark,” as it were. We aren’t proud of them, we may wish we could take them back and do them differently (or not at all), but they reside there nonetheless. We can, and sometimes do, beat ourselves up over them for a very long time; perhaps a lifetime.

Yet, Scripture tells us that while God isn’t pleased when we act less than ourselves, God doesn’t hang onto those moments, either. Just like my Dad, God doesn’t hold the anger and grudges of transgressions in years past. No, indeed according to God’s love, God knows and remembers who we truly are, even when we forget that ourselves sometimes.

Just as we who are parents know who our children truly are even when they take the car where they weren’t supposed to, God knows who we truly are and, as Micah 7:19 tells us, has compassion on us and throws our transgressions into a sea of forgetfulness. It doesn’t erase what we’ve done or the lessons we should learn from it, but it isn’t held onto, either. We are forgiven and encouraged to move forward.

And thank God for that.

PRAYER

God of Forgiveness, thank you for always remembering who we truly are and casting our sins into a sea of forgetfulness. May we receive that gift and life better lives because of it.

Amen.

Peace,

Shawn