Week Five - Chasing A Rabbit

"Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words, and blameless in your judgment." Psalm 51:4

     In going through the prayer Psalm this past week, this verse came out to me on Tuesday and said "Hey, look at me!" Usually when that happens, I find there is something I need to learn, so I decided to do what a pastor friend of mine once called "Chasing a Rabbit down a new trail."

     In John Wesley's notes on this verse, the first part speaks to the fact that while other's have been wronged (in this case both Uriah and Bathsheba), the sin to God was even greater. So much so that David says anything God says to him is deserved, and any judgment He gives, he earned it.

     This seemed like a good definition of the verse, and I agreed with it. But there was something more I was needing to learn, another layer to remove. As I kept looking at the verse, it occurred to me that if my sins were greater to God than to others, then others sins against me were also greater to God than to me. Said another way, when someone wrongs me, they sin more against God than against me. It then becomes my responsibility to forgive them of their sins against me, so that they can more directly deal with God. This is why that tricky part in the Lord's Prayer is there, "as we forgive those who trespass against us". By forgiving others, we have less clutter in coming to God, and we de-clutter others to do the same.

     It is also easier to forgive if we do not consider ourselves as the wronged party. Knowing God was hurt more, allows us a freedom to forgive the wrong done to us. Remember, "Love does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth." (1 Corinthians 13:6)

     I don't claim this as easy. I don't even claim to do it well, or sometimes, at all. My face is the one I see in the mirror each day, and my ego the one that feels the arrows of wrong. But I think this perspective is important. Later in the same Psalm, David says "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me". (Psalm 51:10) I think even David realized the difficulty, and craved God's help. Let us seek His help as well.

     The Psalm this week is Psalm 38. Pour out your heart before Him. Pour out your heart for those whom you have wronged. Pour out your heart for those who have wronged you. Then fill your heart with His Love, His healing, His Spirit.