PSALM 103:10-11

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him

TO PONDER

Reading this verse from psalm 103 made me realise something which we probably all recognise as true when we stop to think about it. Verse 10 "he does not treat us as our sins deserve..." is talking about God's forgiveness. Verse 11 talks about God's love.

Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. Think about it for a moment. Your spouse or one of your children or a close friend or family member does something that hurst you: you might take a few days to process and get over it but forgiveness tends to flow more easily in that context because of the love you have for the other person.

Remove that love from the situation and forgiveness is harder to muster. But Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them (Matt 5:43-48). I suspect that it is truely only when our love for others is like God's "as far as the heavens are above the earth" that we will be able to begin forgiving like God does.

In the mean time, we have the opportunity to practice. Have you ever taken Jesus seriously on his instruction to pray for those who hurt or persecute you. If you find it too hard at the moment to love them, just start by praying for them and see what happens. As you work through the situation with God in prayer he will grow your capacity to love an therefore also your capacity to forgive.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I praise you for your steadfast love and faithfulness to those who call on your name. Please help me to grow in my capacity to love and forgive others the way that the psalmist knew that he was loved and forgiven by you. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle