East and West

 September 8, 2022

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he cast our transgressions from us.”  

—Psalm 103:12

This is a wonderful verse of Scripture! It doesn’t say “as far as the north is from the south,” but “as far as the east is from the west.” We can only go north until we reach the North Pole, after which we can only travel south. There is a limit to north and south, but there is none with east and west. You can travel east for a lifetime and never meet west. There is no end to east and west. 

Sometimes my sins feel close; their remembrance is all too fresh and clear. But in Christ, God has removed it so far that it can never be found. He removes our sins so completely because he is both holy and loving. He cannot abide the presence of sin, because of his holiness, but because of his love, he wants us near. Psalm 99 tells us that God took vengeance on our sin; the Gospel tells us this happened on the Cross.

It is a wonderful thing to have our sins so completely separated from us. If you’ve ever been in a loving relationship that was clouded and obscured by even a misunderstanding, you understand the loneliness and sense of lostness such separation brings. God knows this, and went to great lengths to keep that from happening. He sent His Son to secure our forgiveness, gives his Holy Spirit for strength, his Word for guidance, and the fellowship of believers for encouragement. When we take advantage of all he has done, God himself celebrates with such joy that he breaks into song. 

“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”” —Zephaniah 3:17 

Imagine…the Living God, Creator of all there is, Redeemer of all who will accept him, is singing a love song to you at this very moment, because you let him remove your sins from you as far as the east is from the west!