11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
How far is the east from the west? How high are the heavens above the earth? These are two questions that we will never comprehend the answers to. Why? Because an infinite God has designed the universe in a way that reflects his glory and goodness to his creation.
Think about it this way. If I give you directions to head to Wal-Mart. I would say head east on this road, then head west on another road. All I can do is point you in the direction of east and west because no matter where you stand on this earth you haven't gotten any closer to the east or the west; you will always stand in the balance of the two. The east and the west are infinitely apart since they have no final end to them.
So to is the distance between you, if you fear the Lord and your sins. You will never find your sins because they have been abolished by Jesus Christ. Your sins have been removed from yourself and will never be re-united to you in order to condemn you. The same is true with God's love for you. No matter where you stand morally, if you fear the Lord and have given your life to Him, then you have only begun to taste the measure of His love for you. His love is infinite, there is no measuring device that can grasp the size of his love.
There is an interesting twist in all of this. The distance between us and our sin is directly tied to how much we believe God loves us. The more our sin condemns us by us living in the memory of our sins the less of God's love we can experience. When we hold on to the guilt of our sins by dwelling on what we have done, we are not living in the truth of Psalm 103:12 and we feel as if He loves us less. We tell our self, "How could God love me for what I did?" And so belittle his love for us because we have not released our sins through his forgiveness.
We must know that the Lord has separated us from our sins in order to live in the fullness of His love for us.
As you head to Wal-Mart next time, think about Psalm 103:11-12. When you get there, think of how you are not an inch closer to the east or the west, and how you are also not an inch closer to your sins that God has forgiven you of.
