Read: Psalm 103:6-18

The Lord is merciful and gracious.
-Psalm 103.8

Only a fool makes light of sin. The Bible warns us of
its devastation in our lives and in our communities. I
believe sin should be punished. I get upset when a
clever lawyer helps a guilty client avoid paying the
penalty for his crime. But I don’t want my sin to be
punished. Yet, in my more honest moments, I know that
my sin must also be dealt with.

No matter how vile my sin or the sin of others may be,
no sin is too great for Calvary. God knows all about it
and that’s why Jesus died. The cross isn’t about a hard
God who is softened out of pity for His Son. The cross
displays a loving God who gave so that our sin could be
atoned for. The cross speaks louder than our sin.
“Where sin shouts,” author Jim McGuiggan says, “the
cross thunders….Where sin whispers its lies and
confuses us, the cross heralds its truth and drives away
the darkness.”

Is God soft on sin? The cross shouts, “No!” Is God
soft on sinners? The Bible says, “Yes! (Ps. 103:10).
God pities us. He knows how we are formed and that we
are dust (v.14). Because of the cross, He doesn’t have
to treat us as our sin deserves.

Perhaps you need to realize that today. The cross is
greater than any sin you have committed.
-Haddon W. Robinson

The fullness of God’s matchless love
Shines clearly from Mount Calvary;
What mercy, grace He showed to us
When Jesus died upon that tree! -Anon

WHETHER SINS ARE GREAT OR SMALL,
JESUS CAN FORGIVE THEM ALL.

OUR DAILY BREAD, Copyright 1999 by Radio Bible Class,
Grand Rapids,Michigan. Used by permission.