Psalm 51:10-17
How good are you at forgiving? Rate yourself on a scale of one to ten. I will not divulge how good I am on this scale, because I never know who reading this might one day sit on staff parish relations committee. But I will admit that whatever my own rating is, I would have to rate myself lower in response to this question: How good are you at receiving forgiveness?
Many times we like to be the ones to forgive, because it gives us power over another. But when we find ourselves standing in front of God and God’s mercy, we know that we have no power to forgive God. For God’s will is perfect, hard as it may be to understand. Instead, we come asking for forgiveness. We come begging, pleading, and asking to be made right in this relationship. Like the Psalmist, we know from where forgiveness comes.
When we have a relationship with God, we know that mercy and forgiveness are not ours to give to God, but to receive. God calls us to repentance, not for punishment, but to make the relationship right.
Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Amen.
