East To West

I know I haven't actually commented on a bible verse yet, but I'm also going to use songs. This particular one is very important to me. The song is by Casting Crowns (whose concert I'm going to tomorrow). The chorus of the song is:

Jesus can you show me
Just how far the East is from the West
I can't bear to see the man I've been
Arising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
'Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I first heard this song over Christmas break. It stopped me in my tracks. One of the hardest things to do, as a Christian, is to get back up when we have fallen. There is so much guilt and shame to bear when we choose to go against the will of God. It's almost debilitating sometimes. What's important though is that we do get back up, we repent, and fall on His grace again and again. Many who aren't Christians see the way many of us live our lives, and though it's not always a beacon of righteousness, we try to remain repentant. There is no excuse for it, and it's hardly fair for us to be forgiven, but the ways of God don't always make sense to us. When Christ died for our sins, he paid for all past, present, and future sins. If we just accept the gift, and the truth of it, he will save us from our self-destruction. It is this promise that is so hard to accept sometimes. When we have done something awful and completely against God, it usually is a while, for most of us, before we can humble ourselves to the point of laying it at His feet. I know I often, mistakenly, feel that I have to let His anger abate. This is not so. We must humble ourselves immediately and not go one minute more with a wall of sin between us and our Maker. Even when I am doing fairly well in my life (though, we should never become complacent) I look at the past with dread that I might return to that state which God had saved me from. It is a weakness of mine. I'm not trusting God to be my foundation, and help me move beyond the past so that I might grown in Him. That is why this song struck me the way it did. God says that he has removed our sin as far as the East is from the West. But, we always live with the memory. I can't bear the thought that the person I became my Freshman year of college, will arise in me again. This fear often keeps me from living a life. The second verse of the song starts out: "I start the day, the war begins; endless reminding of my sin!" This is why we must have a constant prayer life. We must have communication with Christ. When we don't speak to Him, we are allowing Satan to have a foothold in our lives. The fight is the Lord's, but we must arm ourselves against His enemy. We do that through prayer. We put on the Armor of God. By doing this, we can concentrate on the here and now. When we can do that, we will grow and become stronger in Him. Just remember that the next time you feel burdened with guilt from your past. Remember that God can remove your sin as far as the East is from the West.