Sins thrown away

by Peter Bean

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You will throw away our sins into the deepest part of the sea (Micah 7:19b).

Read Micah 7:11–20

I am not a scuba diver. My wife went scuba diving once, and I wished her well as I watched from the safety of the boat! I could not imagine spending any time inside a submarine, let alone plunging into the depths of the ocean. I take my hat off to those who go scuba diving or forge a career that way.

Hence, I have no idea what the deepest part of the sea is like – except for what I have read and documentaries I have seen. (My Octopus Teacher would be one of the best!) Anyway, I imagine it as a dark, inhospitable place where no-one wants to go. So I would be happy for my sins to be thrown there! But I also know there is the most amazing life deep underwater, with all sorts of marvellous wonders.

Perhaps that’s the problem with sins and sin in general. Some are obvious, and we are happy to have them thrown into the darkest places to forget them and get on with a better life. But some sins are amazing and make us marvel. So we tolerate them, excuse them, and perhaps, in some cases, even encourage them. Not that we do that deliberately, but we get hooked in by their marvellous wonders!

God’s people have done that for ages: think golden calf, full barns, viewing ourselves better than others. List your own way of deceiving yourself! Read any of the prophets and see how the people of God betrayed their God, followed other gods, and justified their evil ways of living.

But if you read any of the prophets, make sure you read the last chapter! There, you find verses like our verse above. God will have mercy; God will restore; God will enact justice; God will forgive. This does not excuse anything the people did, nor what we do. But it does reassure us; it does restore us. We do know forgiveness, life and new beginnings.

I don’t care where my sins are thrown. I am just grateful that God, in Jesus, took them away and made me a new creation once again. And that’s my prayer for today.

Thank you, God, in Jesus, for taking away my sins and making me a new creation once again. Amen.

Peter is often out tending his garden – with 83 fruit and nut trees and extensive native bushes, he says there is a lot to do! Other times, he will be walking his dog, reading (too many books at a time), enjoying his family (15 grandchildren!), and occasionally writing – poetry, opinion pieces, devotions! To keep out of mischief, he is currently teaching himself to play the piano and is writing a paraphrase of each psalm. You can read these on his website, Creative Walking www.creativewalking.com.au/psalm-reflections.html

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