Good morning. I remember the story of a mother and her 6 year-old son sharing a trip to the local mall. While there, the boy made it a point to be as much of a problem as possible. He demanded things, took items from shelves and in one case opened the package so that it had to be purchased. He ran away from his mom and hid, had a very public temper tantrum, he screamed, cried, and forced the mom to cut the mall visit short and return home.
When they were in the car for the trip home it was obvious that the boy’s mother was very upset. The little fellow was quiet for about half the ride home, then asked his mom “Is it true that God forgives sins when people are bad?” “Yes,” she said, “He certainly does.” The boy went on to say that his Sunday schoolteacher said, “When God forgives, He takes our sins and casts to the depths of the ocean. Is that true?” “Yes,” she said, “that is what the Bible tells us.” The little boy was quiet again for a few minutes, but then he said, “I know I was being bad at the mall, but I asked God to forgive me and to throw my sins into the bottom of the sea.” His mother gave him a look that, without saying the words, clearly meant “nice try.” The boy heaved a deep sigh and said, “Nuts. When we get home, I bet you’re going to go fishing.”
A few days ago, I shared in the thought for the day the importance of remembering and obeying God’s command in Colossians 3:13 Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
For our thought for today I would like to also suggest that being obedient to these commands of forbearance and forgiveness carries with it the idea that we not “go fishing” for the sins that have been forgiven. To dredge up the past failures of others and apply those memories to present situations serves to stir up bitterness and to thwart efforts of genuine forgiveness. The command that we read in Hebrews 12:15 is, I believe, related to our subject: See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Everyone is deserving of God’s grace. That is a concept that can be difficult for us to accept, but it is plainly spoken in God’s Word. If everyone is deserving of God’s grace, then are we to say that they are not deserving of our grace as well? It is when we put harsh parameters on grace that we set the stage for continued bitterness, trouble, and spiritual defilement.
If you want to ensure a fight with someone or ensure that a fight that is ongoing becomes much more damaging and with lasting bad effect, then by all means, “fish” for those past sins. You are guaranteed to catch a whopper or two, because we all have sinned against God and against one another. We all know that a great way to prevent healing is to keep “badgering” a wound. As long as we scratch it, or pull the scab away, the wound will not heal.
Does this mean that we somehow find that divine ability to completely forget the sins that have hurt us? No, or at least, not always. Forgetting something was a momentary blunder or unthinking mistake isn’t that hard to do. However, when the injury is deep and the pain severe, forgetting seems to be nearly impossible. When that is the case, I think that we need to remember that such pain (as well as thoughts of punishment or correction) belongs to the Lord. We need to train ourselves to give it all to God. This isn’t automatic, not even for mature Christians. It is a spiritual act that takes discipline and practice. But when it is given to God, the depth of pain and the concern for retribution are given away as well.
So, as much as I enjoy fishing, let’s agree that there are sins in the depth of the sea that are best left alone. God put them there, who are we to try and bring them back?
Vern