“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)

I love watching shows with archaeology in them. I often wonder what is in the ground, what is in the layers of the earth, and what history happened in an area. The history is the treasure, but I am also a collector of things that attract me like broken glass I find; what did it come from and what did it look like I wonder. It is a general rule that when you dig in undisturbed soils of the earth, the deeper you go, the older things are. These things may have been lost or discarded. Sometimes they were someone else’s treasure, or maybe just lost because of a disaster such as a flood or fire or change in climate. They are human footprints that speak of who was there; of a precious life lived.

In the case of things discarded, it reminds me of how we try to hide things in the past. How we no longer want to live an event or be reminded of a mistake or sin. Layers of things build up over time. Quite often they are forgotten, until something or someone digs them up. Though they are hidden, they still exist. They lay dormant but still could come to life again like a seed in the ground. When we moved into our present home, there was a bucket of seeds left behind. Not knowing what they were, they just remained there untouched for many years. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I planted those seeds. With water and care they came to life, and so can our sins if we water and feed them. There is always that danger even though they lay hidden in the layers of the past.

We cannot remove our own sins, so we hide them and try to put them into a prison of sorts, keeping them from rearing their heads again. We no longer want them to rule in our lives. We claim the freedom of Christ; for only God can remove our sins and wash us clean again. Hebrews 8:12 tells us “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more.” (Also see Hebrews 10:17, Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Can God really forget? Or is he covering them over as mentioned in Proverbs 17:9? “Whoever covers an offence seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”My best guess is that he remembers, but he does not dig them up, or mention them again. Our sins will no longer have control over us, for God will give us his strength, by his Spirit, to keep them buried and dormant, destroyed, and powerless. This reminds me of how the earth is in constant motion. For the most part, we do not perceive it until the earth quakes and we are reminded of the great power of God. The centre of the earth is in constant motion, burning away the old and making the new as the earth subducts and the magma is brought to the surface. This process keeps us safe from the sun’s coronal emissions as a magnetic force field is created by the earth’s geomagnetic field. A renewal process that is in constant motion. God is continually working, bringing new life into the world. Removing our sin and making us clean and whole again.

Prayer
We praise you glorious and wonderful Father for your love and care for us, we thank you Jesus for entering our world to become one with us and for your saving work, we thank you Spirit for dwelling in this broken vessel and giving us this new life. In Jesus’s name, Amen.