The Disposition of the Father
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
As a father cares for his children,
so does the Lord care for those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:10-13)
Last night we held our Ash Wednesday service, launching the season of Lent. Lent, of course, is a penitential time when we intentionally do a self inventory that involves repentance and sorrow for our sins. That process can be difficult because, if done right, it unearths areas in our hearts that might be selfish, rebellious or even dark. And it's important to see these realties within if we are to move toward true repentance.
But if we don't understand this season correctly, bringing our darkness to the surface can lead to despair. Inner voices of self condemnation wait to accuse us when the reality of our sin becomes clear. But here's the thing: self flagellation is not the point of Lent. The aim rather is turning our hearts away from the destructiveness of sin and toward God who desires to forgive, heal and restore.
Early Christians throughout the centuries have always understood this to be true. In fact, for around a thousand years, the Church has associated Psalm 103 with the penitential season of Lent — and that, of course, includes the verses above, which state that God is merciful, removes our sins, and cares for us as a father cares for a child.
"As a father cares for a child" ... The photo above is of my dad holding my brother and me at the beach. My dad is a fun person whose disposition toward us has always been that of love. Even in my own failures and rebellion growing up, I never doubted that he loved me. And that's what we need to remember about God as we head into this hard season of Lent.
Yes, our sins and sinful patterns are real and need to be surfaced and addressed. But even so, our heavenly Father's disposition toward us is that of love as he lavishly demonstrated by giving up his Son on our behalf so that we could be reconciled and restored to him. You see, it's because of his great love for us that he's committed to addressing the sin in our lives both through the redemptive work of Christ and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.
Keep these truths in mind, friends, as we enter this season. And may God use these coming six weeks to reorient our hearts more fully towards him.
Darin+