As Far as the East is from the West...

so far does He remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

The sweet girl and I were reading Psalm 103 the other evening, talking about each verse as we came to it. When we got to verse 12, I stretched out my hands and said something like: "Think about a map and how far apart east and west can be. It's like God puts our sins so far away from us that we can't see them or reach them anymore."

The sweet girl thought for a few moments. And then she said, "It's sort of like he puts them away in a drawer. And then we never wear them again."

I love that image, and I've been pondering it ever since. (It reminds me of how good it is to really meditate on the Scriptures with my daughter.) Think about it. When the Lord forgives us, he doesn't just put away our sins. He puts them away for good, and doesn't ever expect or want us to "wear them" again.

And we do sometimes wear them, don't we? I know I do...sometimes pridefully, but often as not unconsciously. I trot the old stuff out, including sometimes the transgressions I've already confessed and been forgiven for. I should be free of these, free so that I don't put them on and live out of them ever again, but sometimes I forget. I wear the old clothes instead of remembering that he has dressed me in new robes of righteousness and love. Those days when I am wearing tatters instead of the beauty he's designed for me, it's especially good to remember his graciousness and mercy.

I'm also reminded of clothing ourselves in God's armor, and of the Celtic tradition of dressing prayers...prayers prayed during ordinary, daily activities such as putting on your clothes or kindling the morning fire. St. Patrick's breastplate is related to the Scriptural admonition to put on the whole armor of God, but also seems to partake of that Celtic tradition. "I bind unto myself today..." is a prayer for protection, as one takes up the the shield the Lord has provided, but it's also a girding for battle, and it's a very specific prayer for this particular day. Maybe as we dress each day, we should remember who we belong to and what he has asked us to wear as sons daughters of the King. And we can be thankful that he has put away our old ragged and stained clothes forever.