I'm living in the foothills of the Sierras now, but for many years I lived by the beautiful Pacific Ocean. My family is still living there and I feel the tug of missing them often. In my small world the coast is "West" to me and the soaring mountains in my backyard are my "East." West seems very far away when I chatter with my family or they send me pictures of the kids on my phone. But, after a nice long visit, East calls to me with its giant Sequoia trees, rushing streams, the deer running through our pasture (and eating my apples, I might add). I love what I call "clouds with edges." - You see, by the Pacific cloudy days are usually clouds all smashed together and spread on the sky like gray jam. But here in the mountains the clouds have definite edges in inumerable shapes and sizes. They fascinate me as they hurry from the West to my East and shower the peaks with rumbling storms and quiet flurries.
Today, as I reflected upon the coming Easter Season, I read this in Psalm 103:12, "As far as the East is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." This is what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross and resurrection. Since I am particularly grateful for this sacrifice - I've had a lot of transgressions for Him to push away over the horizon; I began to wonder how far the East is from the West. I know it is much farther than the distance from the Pacific to the Sierras.
Then it occured to me that if I started walking West, swam the ocean, walked across the continents, swam the Atlantic, walked across North America, I could walk West forever. There is never an end to West. Then, if I turned around and hiked across the Sierras and Rockies, crossed the Atlantic, Europe and Asia, rowed back across the Pacific and came to my big porch again, I still would not have exhausted the inexhaustable East. The East and West are neverending, infinite, so far I can never catch them. What a thought that the Heavenly Father loves us so much that He banished our transgressions to the unreachable past. They are literally gone and irretrievable.
Let's thank God today that the word "guilt" need not ever be in our vocabulary. We simply ask Our Father's forgiveness and give thanks that Jesus Christ paid the fine for our missteps and we stand guiltless and free.
It's a good thing.
Blessings, Patti
Classic Christianity
Today, as I reflected upon the coming Easter Season, I read this in Psalm 103:12, "As far as the East is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." This is what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross and resurrection. Since I am particularly grateful for this sacrifice - I've had a lot of transgressions for Him to push away over the horizon; I began to wonder how far the East is from the West. I know it is much farther than the distance from the Pacific to the Sierras.
Then it occured to me that if I started walking West, swam the ocean, walked across the continents, swam the Atlantic, walked across North America, I could walk West forever. There is never an end to West. Then, if I turned around and hiked across the Sierras and Rockies, crossed the Atlantic, Europe and Asia, rowed back across the Pacific and came to my big porch again, I still would not have exhausted the inexhaustable East. The East and West are neverending, infinite, so far I can never catch them. What a thought that the Heavenly Father loves us so much that He banished our transgressions to the unreachable past. They are literally gone and irretrievable.
Let's thank God today that the word "guilt" need not ever be in our vocabulary. We simply ask Our Father's forgiveness and give thanks that Jesus Christ paid the fine for our missteps and we stand guiltless and free.
It's a good thing.
Blessings, Patti
Classic Christianity
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