https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/10/etch-a-sketch-forgiveness
It is well known that the love and compassion, grace and mercy of God as recorded in the Old Testament are all phenomenal. His forgiveness is both outstanding and astounding. David writes, “He removed my transgressions from me as far as the east is from the west and His love is so great that it is as far as heaven is from earth”. In essence, God’s love and compassion, patience and forgiveness know no bounds and are practically infinite. Never ending. New every month morning as the dew is refreshed at the break of dawn, so long as the world we know now remains.
As much as David speaks for himself in his Psalms, the LORD mostly refers to Israel when He speaks about His love and compassion through His prophets like Isaiah, Ezekial and Jeremiah and even Daniel. His first love remains the nation of Israel. He may banish them to be exiled for a few hundred years and yet longs to rescue and restore them. But it is the nation, as individuals would have perished before His rescue and restoration a few hundred years later.
It is only when Jesus came and walked the earth among those He created, among His creation that we see the more personal side of God. Jesus wept when He came back to Bethany to see Lazarus, who had by then beed dead for 4 days already. He saw the emotional Mary and Martha and the crowds, and He was moved with compassion for them. He was often moved by compassion to heal multitudes of people, to drive out demons tormenting people. He was moved by compassion to feed the 4,000 and the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and fish. He was moved by compassion to turn water into wine at one of His first ministry tasks.
The message this morning I believe is to be compassionate ourselves as God was, is and will be compassionate to us. We must likewise allow ourselves to be moved by compassion following the perfect example of Christ. We must do our part as much as we can, as limited may our resources are. We help and empathise out of all we have, no matter how little that may be. Jesus made that clear in the Parable of the Ungrateful Servant.
The second point I believe is as much as the love and compassion of God appears to be infinite, it is not. Even as He may forgive us and Jesus taught us to forgive 70 x 7 times, it is actually finite. We must therefore not take God’s love and compassion, grace and mercy for granted. It will most likely be there when we turn back to Him and repent from our sins, transgressions and rebellion but we have to repent while we still have breath here on earth. There is no second chance once we have crossed over to the other side; always remember that, my beloved brethren. As much as His compassion is as far as the east is from the west or as far as heaven is from earth, it doesn’t extend beyond that.
Ronnie's Thoughts 