Scripture for Today: Psalm 25:7   “Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions.  According to Your loving kindness remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.”

I am a careful driver but I have never been very comfortable using mirrors to drive.  I do not know why.  I just do not trust them as much as seeing something directly.  There is a lot of neck turning when I am at the wheel!  Many side mirrors have the warning seen here; “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”  Perhaps it is this warning that shakes my confidence in the image I am seeing.

Our verse for today is a wonderful reassurance of the complete forgiveness we can enjoy when we confess our sins.  David is asking the Lord not to remember the sins of his youth.  It must be that David is remembering them.  Rather than looking ahead, he is looking back behind him.  His memory is making an issue of what had already been forgiven.  God’s forgiveness is close up and personal.  His love and grace are closer than they appear.  His forgiveness is bigger than we realize.  As far as God is concerned, He does not remember our sins (Isaiah 43:25).

I do not think there is a person alive who does not have some regret about his past.  There is always something said or done that should not have been!  And because memories cannot very well be erased, we remember, but our forgiving Lord does not.  However, when I think back I can choose to focus on His grace and forgiveness rather than my failure.  I can enjoy looking ahead rather than be paralyzed with guilt over the past.

Lord, if I do look behind me, may I only see the closeness of Your loving forgiveness.

(Look familiar?  This is a summer re-post due to ministry schedule.)