Tag Archives: Psalm 103

Far and Away

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Do you know how far it is from the north pole to the south pole?

I’ll tell you how far it is from the north pole to the south pole—
approximately 12,430 miles.

A group of explorers actually made the trip.*
It took them through 42 countries and several oceans over a span of 475 days.

What about the distance from east to west?

That’s harder to calculate.
In fact, it cannot be measured.
There is no east pole or west pole.
The distance from east to west is immeasurable.
And I’m so glad.

David the psalmist wrote, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Ps. 103:11-12

Even though David had incomplete knowledge of how vast the earth is, the inspired words are completely accurate. If he had written, “as far as the north is from the south, so far does he remove our transgressions from us,” we would be measuring and calculating our standing with God.  

But east from west—that is boundless, bottomless, limitless, measureless.
A forgiven sin is removed far away, beyond our reach.
Which is far and away the best news. 

Now, how high are the heavens above the earth?

*For more about the expedition, see transglobalcar.com

Bookkeeping

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This is the only word in the English language (besides “bookkeeper”) that has three double letters— b-O-O-K-K-E-E-p-i-n-g. I guess you could call it a triple-double.

I learned this fun fact years ago in Economics 101. We had a visiting professor from Boston who wrote the word in large letters on the chalkboard one morning. It’s the only thing I remember from that class. I dropped Econ soon after, figuring that at least I learned something. More than forty years later, I still can’t explain supply and demand, but I know the only word with three double letters.

I admit I am a bookkeeper at heart. I have a detailed budget book, I keep every receipt in envelopes by the month, and I balance our checkbook to the penny.

Attention to details is one of my strengths.

It’s helpful when PB needs to be reminded what time his appointment is, or when I keep track of whose turn it is to deal, or when I rattle off all eleven grandkids’ birth dates.

But there’s a flip side.

It’s not helpful when I remind PB of the “right” way to load the dishwasher, or when I keep track of who won the card game last week, or when I rattle off others’ mistakes.

God is big into details.
Just look at that swirly pattern on your fingertip.
Take a close look at the inside a lily-of-the-valley.
Try to call all the stars in the Milky Way galaxy by name.

But God doesn’t seem to be big on bookkeeping.
In fact, God took the sinless Christ and poured my sins into Him.
Then, in exchange, God’s goodness was poured into me. (2 Cor. 5:21)

That kind of transaction really messes up the books.

He remembers our sins no more (Heb. 8:12).
He blots them out for His own sake (Is. 43:25).
He removes them as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).

What kind of a bookkeeper does that?

God reconciled the world to himself through Christ,
by not counting people’s sins against them.
2 Corinthians 5:19

Glory hallelujah!