29 January 2016
Psalm 51 is an honest psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, in
your goodness . . . I have done such evil in your sight.” And what else would we feel in our heart but
that one line: “Turn away your face
from my sins” . . . turn away, don’t
look! I’m too ashamed; I’m too embarrassed
of my mistakes.
But, of course, that was part of David’s problem after he
committed adultery; he didn’t want his sin to be known. He kept it from the Lord. And so, it only compounded and got worse . .
. kind of like a sliver that gets in your finger—a sliver that hurts too much
to pull out, and so just leave it there.
But, to that situation, Jesus says: “Pull the splinter out,
even if it hurts. Get it out so you can
heal.” And that’s what he tells us when
it comes to our sins. He says, “Let me
see what you’ve done. Tell me what you’ve
done.” Of course, what we want to say
is: “Turn away your face from my sins,
Lord . . . turn away, don’t look!” But
Jesus, like the loving person he is, will keep on saying: “Let me see.”
And then there, when we open ourselves to the Lord and just
tell him whatever’s weighing on our hearts and mind—there, in that intimate
sharing and trust between two friends, life is renewed. Integrity of spirit is renewed. Peace of mind and joy in the soul are
refreshed.
All because we said: “Lord, look what I’ve done. Lookit!
Have mercy on me Lord, have mercy.”
And he does. Thanks be to God, he
does.
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