"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” — Psalm 103:12

When I was a child our family would take a long road trip every Christmas from Kansas to Michigan to visit family in our yellow Chrysler minivan. Fueled by PB&Js and pure adrenaline, I can recall counting down the hours…only 3 more Sesame Street episodes until we’d be there. I remember thinking what an amazing thing it would be to actually get to watch those shows while I waited. Ah, the good ol’ 90’s when we used the length of shows to gauge time, rather than pass the time, on road trips.  

On one particular trip, I can remember asking my mom a question as we passed over the frozen tundra of Kansas, “Mom, where does Auntie Linda live?” “California,” she replied. “And how far away is California?” I bounced back. “Very far, Vera.” I remember looking out the window to the edge of the horizon, thinking, “Ah! THAT must be California, and it does seem to be VERY far away.”

Fast forward to a few summers ago. My husband, Matt, and I were celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary in Arizona. We decided to make the drive up to the Grand Canyon, and I can remember standing on the ledge looking out over the cavern, my breath literally taken away. The expanse was unbelievable—the horizon was so far away it was miraging into the skyline. As I stood there, these words came washing over me: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

When I reminisce about being a child and thinking I could see all the way to California, I giggle a bit at the naivety of it. And yet the lack of sophistication is still there as I compare God’s radical, far-stretching, unending love to the expanse of the Grand Canyon. When God reached down in his great love to save me, to forgive me, to wash away my every sin, that love is a love stretching further, and wider, and higher, and deeper than I could EVER comprehend. And what's more, he keeps reaching down every day for me. When I come up short yet again, and confess yet again that I need his help, he forgives me again, removing my sin infinitely far from me. And he is doing the same for you and every single other person who trusts Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.

I’ve needed the reminder of God’s wild, unending love and forgiveness this month. And maybe you do too. I have a few ideas for how you can continue to sit in this truth, and I challenge you to take the time to experience God’s forgiveness and love in a few different ways: 

1. Listen to Psalm 103 five times through while on a 10 minute walk, letting the words sink in. Be sure to open your eyes to the sky imagining just how high above us it is. 
2. List out any sin that still seems to have a grip on you. Ask the Lord to help you to be released from any guilt or shame you might still be feeling. After all, if God himself has forgiven you and removed your sins as far as the east is from the west, then you are truly set free! Praise Jesus. Then tear that list up and get it in the trash where it belongs.
3. If you struggle to accept God’s forgiveness for sins you’ve already confessed, be sure to listen to the Dwell Differently podcast episode “God Belongs in Prison.” You won’t want to miss hearing Jake Bodine from God Behind Bars talk about the radical forgiveness of God in the lives of inmates. Guys, it is absolute FIRE!
4. Lastly, ask the Spirit to guide you to share God’s love and forgiveness with someone today.

I have one last prayer for you (and for me): May your understanding of “very far” expand past its former boundaries as you dwell on the infinite love and forgiveness of God available to you in his Son, Jesus.