Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean! Micah 7:18-19 (NLT)
As I stood with my great-nephew with our feet in the surf, the waves rolled in and out. Back and forth. Eventually, our feet were buried underneath the sand. We were unable to see them they were covered so completely. And, it happened so quickly. Before you knew it, we were buried.
As we moved our feet to another part of the beach, holes were left where our feet had been. As the water continued its rhythmic motion washing over the indentations we left, the holes were soon gone. Nothing was left but a smooth, undisturbed surface.
Made me think of God’s forgiveness. When we sin, indentations in our lives are left. But, when we change our position by changing our behavior or changing our course, God wipes the slate clean. He simply says, “You are forgiven.” There are no residual comments, no lingering accusations. Nothing is held over our head until we get it perfect. He doesn’t say “I’ll forgive you if you do this, this and this.” Once we say I’m sorry, once we ask him for his forgiveness he says “Done!”
And, just like the sand doesn’t differentiate by the size of the feet or the weight of the person, God doesn’t offer forgiveness only to those that have sinned “less.” In God’s eyes, all sins are the same. No matter what you’ve done, forgiveness is still immediate and complete.
God tells us that he throws our sins into the depth of the ocean. How appropriate. In the depths of the ocean, you won’t be able to find it again. It is gone. Forever.