Who is a God Like You?

“Who is a God like you,

who pardons sin and forgives transgression

of the remnant of his inheritance?

“You do not stay angry forever

but delight to show mercy.

“You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

~Micah 7:18-19 (NIV).

So great is God that he understands and accepts our human failings—our propensity to change our minds. He accepts that we have moods and sometimes either deliberately do bad things or simply make mistakes. He made us; he was there, too, when we fell.

Think of God’s forgiveness in the many and varied sins we’re routinely forgiven for, by way of no consequence for our actions. This happens so much we can’t even begin to calculate it. God allows us our “playground” trial-and-error life, for the most part.

The times when there is a consequence it is for our own good; it can be seen that we’re being “disciplined” appropriately. And God is not forever unsatisfied with us—indeed, I get the distinct impression these days that God’s forgiveness is light-speed more rapid than my very own. Don’t we condemn ourselves too much?

Whichever way we look at it, God compels his mercy toward us as if to say, ‘Do not let this barrier that was once between us hold you back. I see you’re sorry and wish to repent. And if you aren’t, I’m causing you to be sorry—if you’re wise enough to see that. Now that you see you’re wrong and wish to make amends, I’ve forgiven you already!’

He hurls our transgressions toward him—for all sin is an attack at God—away into the sea with great velocity, hardly to be seen again, certainly not in view of God. Others might re-hash our sins but when God forgives he’s put the matter to bed entirely.

And this is one blistering reason why having a relationship with the living God is most fundamentally critical:

He helps us to forgive ourselves. He makes living in our skins bearable. Life suddenly begins to make sense in the light of God’s forgiving revelations.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.