Inexhaustible Love
“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10–12) Let those words trickle into the dry and brittle soil of your weary soul. Absorb them into the dark corners of your heart where fear and doubt lurk. Like a tree firmly planted near the stream of living water, soak up the life-giving truth, becoming invigorated and rejuvenated by its power.
Guilt, shame, sorrow, remorse, fear, and doubt cause us to withdraw from God at times, don’t they? The enemy can be particularly cruel in a constant assault upon our soul, forcing us to relive our worst moments, our biggest failures. We cringe and fold into ourselves again and again, as if it just happened. We begin to feel like God is looming over us, arms crossed, His countenance hard and uninviting. Listen to these precious, life-giving words, beloved! He has not dealt with us according to our sins! He has not treated us as our iniquities deserve! He has not responded to our sin with judgment, condemnation, and wrath! He is the God who “pardons all your iniquities”! He is the God who “redeems your life from the pit”! (103:3–4).
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.” (103:8) He is overflowing with faithful and unending love! His love is so great, so rich, so full, so expansive that it is as “high as the heavens are above the earth”! (103:11). Stand outside and look into the sky. It stretches away from you in an ever-growing expanse of blue. The heavens go even farther, as the night sky reveals! Suddenly we are given a glimpse of stars millions of light-years away! The heavens are immeasurably big and continuing to expand! We cannot reach the limit of the heavens above the earth. That is what God’s faithful, merciful, and gracious love for sinners is like! It is overflowing, abundant, and unending! The supply of love for repenting sinners will never—no, never—drain the ocean of God’s love!
Those who fear the Lord, who trust in Him and His promises made in Christ, are the recipients of an endless supply of love and grace. God has removed our sins from us, sending them as far away as the east is from the west! Our sins have no more relevance for our lives! Did we do these horrible things? Yes. Do they define us? Do they exhaust God’s love for us? Not even a little! It is like dipping a Dixie cup in the Pacific Ocean—your lifelong consumption of His love and grace will make no noticeable dip in the amount of love available for repentant sinners. Do you see? God does not treat us with the judgment our sins deserve! No, He has plunged us into the ocean of His unending love and grace! He loves us with an overflowing, ever-expanding grace! This is why He has not dealt with us according to our sins! His infinite love is the reason for His inexhaustible supply of mercy and grace to repenting sinners.
Go to Jesus, beloved! Take your shame and guilt, your fear and sorrow, to the throne of God and rejoice in the fullness of His love! He stands with arms stretched open wide to envelop you in the embrace of mercy. He has dealt with your sins according to the infinite supply of His love—not according to the death your sins deserve! O praise the name of the Lord our God! “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (103:1).