Is not this the God who armed me well, then aimed me in the right direction? 2 Sam 22:33 (MSG)
Sins Rewritten – Part 4
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3
In his book “Falling Upward,” Richard Rohr writes,
“The genius of the biblical revelation is that it refuses to deny the dark side of things, but forgives failure and integrates falling to achieve its only promised wholeness… it gives us permission and even direction to take conscious ownership of our own story at every level, every part of life and experience. God will use all of this material, even the negative parts, to bring us to life and love.”
Jesus “owned” our sins on the cross, so that we could own them too and not be crushed under their weight but rather, by grace, rise from them and our past – the things that we have done and the things that have happened to us – into new life. A life re-written. A resurrection.
Jesus doesn’t discount our past, the cross doesn’t separate us from our actions, obliterating them into thin air as if they never happened. It includes them, draws them close and purifies them. It turns their destructive nature around and into something that can be used for our good and the good of others. Like a re-write. It doesn’t delete the story, it just makes it clearer, more purposeful, more beautiful and more whole.
Jesus takes our sins and rewrites them with forgiveness,
he re-writes our foolishness into experiences that lead to wisdom,
our pain and fear into peace,
our hopelessness into hope,
our tired and weary souls into rest and rejuvenation.
Together, God and I, we re-write depression and anxiety into prayers and praise.
Our weaknesses become our strengths with his gentle edits,
and what was designed to take us out only serves to make us stronger as we open the book of our hearts to Jesus and he writes grace, grace, grace upon each page and into the world around us.
David experienced this; a re-writing and re-calibrating relationship with the Divine. God didn’t excuse David’s sins and his past. The shepherd-made-king still had to endure the many consequences of the things he did. BUT, together (David and God) they re-wrote his future… his decisions, longings, pains and triumphs. And this is why we love David. Not because he is the epitome of hero – perfect, strong and gleaming. We love him because he gives us hope that a broken and twisted man – one who knew what is was to worship and write before the living God, who fought for freedom, who committed the gravest of sins, experienced the heartbreak of terrible choices, had a complicated and crazy family, a man of many vices and virtues – could still be called a man after God’s own heart.
God must have one heck of a pen.
“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” 2 Samuel 22:20-24.
Want to make some edits to your life? Want to rewrite a few learned behaviors, the effect that your past and your sins have on your heart? Want to find deeper meaning and more purpose? Grab a book, pull up a seat at God’s table, and together, start re-writing.
Go to Part 5 – Psalm 18
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