"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
(Rom 4:7-8)
We face
reminders every day that we live in a fallen world full of garbage.
Yet to be fair, some of the trash is my contribution. Sometimes I say
things I’d like to grab back and throw away. Some decisions I’d like
to shred all evidence of making. Some reactions are too ripe,
like spoiled fruit that would better serve as compost. I am far
from perfect and yet so thankful for God’s grace and the new life he brings,
even through the garbage of the world and the mistakes I make. Stuff
happens. Bad stuff dies and good stuff grows.
While serving as teachers in Irian Jaya, we had a unique way of handling garbage. Our trash was thrown into a deep hole and regularly burned. Eventually, we would dig a new hole right next to the old rubbish pit. It was actually a source of fun, playing in the dirt as we threw it over the old waste to fill in the crater. But the garbage wasn’t wasted. We would plant a fruit tree over the old, covered over hole. It was amazing how quickly and how well the new fruit tree would grow. It’s like the old dead garbage would turn into nutrients for new life.
Psalm 32 and Romans 4:7 paint a wonderful image of forgiveness. By God’s grace and through our confessions (agreeing with God about the garbage in our life), there is a “covering” of our sins. As we forgive others who hurt us, we are able to throw away the bitterness. As we choose to forgive and give up the right to get even, we can chuck out the anger. Perhaps it’s not that dissimilar to covering over a garbage hole and then watching a beautiful fruit tree flourishing through the contribution of forgiven stuff transformed into nutrients for spiritual growth. Not that any sin is justified, but my past garbage covered over has an impact on the depth of my love for Christ and the fruit that he brings forth. God has amazing ways to grow us and produce good things in our lives, even through bad stuff that has died at the cross.
“The Lord made his people very fruitful….” (Ps 105:24)
Thanks, Lord, for working everything to the good (Romans 8:28), even the garbage.
While serving as teachers in Irian Jaya, we had a unique way of handling garbage. Our trash was thrown into a deep hole and regularly burned. Eventually, we would dig a new hole right next to the old rubbish pit. It was actually a source of fun, playing in the dirt as we threw it over the old waste to fill in the crater. But the garbage wasn’t wasted. We would plant a fruit tree over the old, covered over hole. It was amazing how quickly and how well the new fruit tree would grow. It’s like the old dead garbage would turn into nutrients for new life.
Psalm 32 and Romans 4:7 paint a wonderful image of forgiveness. By God’s grace and through our confessions (agreeing with God about the garbage in our life), there is a “covering” of our sins. As we forgive others who hurt us, we are able to throw away the bitterness. As we choose to forgive and give up the right to get even, we can chuck out the anger. Perhaps it’s not that dissimilar to covering over a garbage hole and then watching a beautiful fruit tree flourishing through the contribution of forgiven stuff transformed into nutrients for spiritual growth. Not that any sin is justified, but my past garbage covered over has an impact on the depth of my love for Christ and the fruit that he brings forth. God has amazing ways to grow us and produce good things in our lives, even through bad stuff that has died at the cross.
“The Lord made his people very fruitful….” (Ps 105:24)
Thanks, Lord, for working everything to the good (Romans 8:28), even the garbage.
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
(Ps 32:1-2)
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:19-24)
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