God Does Not Pull Our "Jacket"

This is a "faith note" written by my husband for our congregation that I want to share.

I like detective shows, especially ones that give enough clues to enable you to figure out who did it, like the British series Foyle's War.

Very often, some suspect has a police record, so the detectives pull the "jacket" - the record of arrests and convictions, and then treat the suspect accordingly.  The presumption is that if they committed some crime before, they are likely to have done it again.

Unfortunately, we all have had a "jacket" before God, and we know it, so sometimes we think that the Holy Spirit is like some TV detective who pulls our record when He deals with us.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

The psalmist wrote, "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor deal with us according to our iniquities."  

If God was going to deal with Israel according to their sins, He would have destroyed them in the wilderness.  Instead, He revealed Himself as the God of mercy and steadfast love - the love that never gives up.

Paul wrote something similar to the Colossians, that when we were dead in sin, He made us alive - "canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands."

The record of our sins has been canceled!

God does not pull our "jacket".  He looks toward our future to bring His purpose to fruition.  

We are a new creation, brought into His family, and invested with His Spirit.

God Himself has come to dwell with us, with you.

He will continue to work out the brokenness of sin in us, but it is not punishment, it is His gracious work of restoration and renewal.

As the psalmist said - "Bless the Lord!"

Pastor Bruce Garner