"Comfort, oh comfort my people," says your God. "Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She's been punished enough and more than enough, and now it's over and done with." Isaiah 40:1-2 (MSG)

As a kid, I was in trouble plenty of times. I was grounded, spanked, put in time out, sent to bed, had my allowance garnished, and had my mouth washed out with soap. Yet, with all of that, my parents did not hold my sins against me. There were no grudges held. My parents continued to believe the best in me and, once the punishment for my infraction was complete, I was never reminded of my sins. In fact, to this day I will occasionally ask my parents if they remember when I did this or that naughty thing. Usually they just laugh and shake their heads. They have no recollection.

That's what is awesome about being in reltionship with Christ. Even though God is all-knowing and could remember every heinous detail of our sins, He chooses to forget them. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, the blood of His punishment covered all of us. The punishment was complete. It's over and done. When we place our faith in Christ, we are covered by that ultimate sacrificial act of love. Softly and tenderly, God calls us home to receive His blessing instead of His curses, just ike the Prodigal Son.

I catch myself, on occasion, remembering my own sins and choosing to project God's punishment and disappointment on myself. I think I need to imagine God's quizzical look (much like my Earthly parents when I ask them if they remember this or that naughty act). I need to see God scratching his head and saying, "I don't remember that at all."

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and [ henning ]