Erased forever

Have you ever lost an important file on your computer? While this can be unsettling, most people who are familiar with computers can successfully restore the seemingly lost file. It's really good to know that all is not lost when trying to find information that you've accidentally deleted. However, trying to erase things that burden you with guilt is far from comforting. It really doesn't feel good to know that this information could still be available somewhere. This is why there are special computer programs on the digital market that overwrite unwanted files several times and make them unreadable. Have you ever felt that way about your sins and missteps? Is there a nagging fear that God has not erased all of your sins after all, and that He may hold the worst of your missteps after you? «The Lord is merciful and gracious, patient and of great kindness. He will not quarrel forever, nor remain angry forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins and does not repay us for our iniquities. For as high as heaven is above earth, he lets his grace rule over those who fear him. As far as morning is from evening, he lets our transgressions be from us »(Psalm 103,8-12)

There is no greater difference than day and night, but despite the assurance of His love and forgiveness, it is difficult for us to really believe and trust that God has created such a great distance between himself and our sins.

It is only human that we do not find it easy to forgive others and ourselves and to forget the missteps and pain that have been caused to us and others. We have a vague assumption that our deleted files are still stored on God's hard drive and will reopen on our screen in an unexpected moment. But just like the digital files that have been made illegible, God "overwritten" our sins and erased them forever. However, this did not require a special software program, but a very specific victim.

The apostle Paul, of course, did not have a computer in his day, but he understood that the prerequisite for forgiveness and clearing away our sins required something very special. He imagined that our guilt was written down and therefore had to be erased or wiped away. In the letter to the Colossians, he explains: «God made you alive with him, who were dead in sins and in the uncircumcised flesh, and has forgiven us all sins. He canceled the debt that was against us with his claims and picked it up and pinned it to the cross »(Colossians 2,13-14).

Through his sacrifice Jesus erased the debt of debt and pinned all our sins to his cross. Our missteps are no longer hidden in a heavenly file, but have been erased once and for all. When God says that our sins are as far from us as the evening in the morning, He means it. He doesn't want us to doubt our forgiveness and live with that uncertainty.

When computer specialists find your lost files back, you can breathe a sigh of relief. When God assures us that all of the corrupt files in our lives will be erased forever, it just seems too good to be true. But that is exactly why God brings us forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus.

by Joseph Tkach