05/02/2020
As Far as East is from West
PSALM 103:8-22 (NKJV)
'And God called the firmament Heaven. So, the evening and the morning were the second day. Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
When I was heading out Colorado to go to collage, I stopped to see a friend and his family! I live in the east coast region of the U.S. and they live in the mid-west. When I reach my destination, I stopped; however, if I kept traveling west, I’d eventually wind up back home in the east because there is no point where west ends and east begins. It’s not that way with north and south. If I journey north, eventually I’ll come to the North Pole and from there I’ll go south, no matter which way I move–that is, until I reach the South Pole and from there I’ll travel north again. North and south actually have starting and stopping points.
I have watched the sun come up and set in different ways and settings. I have seen it in the dessert of Africa and in the Ocean coming back from Somalia. Now I watch it raise and set here at the Upper Ferry on the Wicomico River.
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that God didn’t say He removed our sins as far as the north is from the south? That distance can be measured in miles and in time, and there is a definite point where that occurs. Instead, our loving Heavenly Father said that He placed our sins as far away as the east is from the west. That can never be measured! So, if we try to find our sins, we just keep going in circles, like a dog chasing his tail. Well never be able to grab them again. By His grace, they are gone.
While the consequences of my transgressions linger, the penalty, the guilt, and the shame no longer must haunt and torment us. We are free to live in the luxurious grace of the King of Kings who pardons and even sanctifies use when we turn from our sin, accept His mercy, and seek His face. How much better if we never sinned in the first place, but what a comfort to know that when we fail, we can turn to Him in humility and genuine repentance, and He will cast those sins away as far as the east is from the west. Praise God, that’s forgiveness! That’s freedom! That’s God’s marvelous mercy!
Thank You, Lord, for the fabulous gift of forgiveness and mercy that flows from Your love.
