"Today Your mercy calls us to wash away our sin. However great our trespass, whatever we have been, However long from mercy our hearts have turned away, Your precious blood can wash us and make us clean today.
"Today Your gate is open, and all who enter in Shall find a Father's welcome and pardon for their sin. The past shall be forgotten, a present joy be giv'n, A future grace be promised, a glorious crown in heav'n."
Now and then we would like to have "do-overs" in life, as in a child's game, but once an action is taken it cannot be undone. When a word is spoken, it cannot be called back. The troubling thought that we should have said or done things differently can lead to regret and despair. Our hymn is not about do-overs, but something much deeper, something better. Our life in Christ is not about do-overs and despair, but about repentance and renewal. The hymn celebrates the forgiveness that is ours through Jesus our Savior, whose "mercies never come to an end" (Lamentations 3:22b).
When we struggle with the guilt and despair brought about by a sinful action taken or an unkind word spoken, God calls us, not to regret, but to repentance. Moved by the Spirit we admit that our sinful thoughts, words, and actions are sins against God and against His will for us, but God does not treat us as our sins deserve. He forgives us for the sake of His Son. "However great our trespass," Jesus suffered the penalty of death for our trespasses, and we are washed clean in His blood. Our sin and guilt are removed forever from the sight of God. "Whatever we have been," God now sees us in Christ as His precious sons and daughters. "However long" our hearts have turned away from His mercy, His forgiveness is so complete it is as though we never left Him.
We may remember our trespasses, but God does not. Scripture reminds us that God throws our sins "into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19b). He removes our sins "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12a). Speaking of the new covenant sealed in Jesus' blood, God said, "I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34b). God, who knows and remembers all things, chooses to forget our sins for Jesus' sake. Today He gives us the "present joy" of His forgiveness, and one day, by His grace, He will grant to us "a glorious crown in heav'n." "The past will be forgotten" as we, redeemed and forgiven, take up the eternal crowns of glory that our Savior won for us. We will have no regrets.
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, thank you for forgiving me and welcoming me into Your presence. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "Today Your Mercy Calls Us," which is number 915 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. It's our nature to do foolish and hurtful things. Have you brought these things to God in prayer to help you work through them?
2. Do you know that your sins can be washed whiter than snow through the blood of Jesus? (See Isaiah 1:18; Acts 2:38; 1 Timothy 1:14-16.)
3. How is it that God's love and mercy in Jesus covers all our sins, no matter how bad they are?
Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 47-48 Hebrews 2
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