THE IMMEASURABLE DISTANCE

How can any distance be immeasurable? Airlines, for instance, know the distance their planes fly, no matter how far the destination. Hence, it’s difficult to imagine some distance that cannot be measured. As unimaginable as it seems, there’s such a distance: the distance between East and West.

The distance between East and West is immeasurable, because when you start a journey from the East, moving toward the West, you’ll never really get to a particular spot called West. The farther you move in the westward direction, the farther away your destination will be.

You might be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal about that?” This is a big deal because God used that illustration to prove a point: demonstrating how completely He forgives sins, meaning once forgiven, He does not bring it back again; your sin is gone for good. The Bible says, “He [God] has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12 NLT).   

Now do you understand the big deal? When God forgives you, you stay forgiven! However, God forgiving us is not automatic; we have to want to be forgiven. Our role in the process is to repent (regret sinning), and ask God to forgive us. Why should He forgive us: is it because we’re so good most of the time, or because we’re so special? No! No reason you can think of is a good enough reason for Him to forgive us.

There’s one, and only one, reason upon which God bases His forgiveness: His love! He loves us, and has provided Jesus Christ, His only Son, to be the sacrifice for our sins. The following verses explain the process clearly; please read them carefully. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood” (Romans 3:23-25 NLT).  

Dear reader, you’re a sinner, because you were born with a sin nature, just like everyone else. The Bible stresses that fact by saying, “Everyone has sinned.” So now would you like to be forgiven? If you don’t seek forgiveness, you make yourself an enemy of God (see James 4:4), and that enmity will continue into eternity leaving you in hell after death. I encourage you to call on God today and ask Him to forgive you through Jesus Christ, His Son. He will do that, and remove your sins as far away as the east is from the west; it will be as if you never sinned. He’ll be with you in this life, and then into eternity with Him in heaven. Do it today!