The Heart's Cry: Psalm 25

Psalm 25

Here we find a Psalm that is yearning for grace and mercy. David reminds God of God's attributes, mercy and steadfast love. David pleads that the sins of his youth and his transgressions might be forgotten. David wants God's steadfast love to blot out his mistakes. Here God is a God who instructs sinners, who leads the humble, who pardons guilt.

On one hand this God doesn't seem like the same God that David has been calling to time and time again to wipe out his enemies. The same guy who asked for his enemies to be blotted out now asks for his own misdeeds to be blotted out instead. And while David mentions his enemies at the end it is his own failings that mainly concern him.

There has been a wave of Christians who call on karma to fall upon people. Karma, an idea of bad being visited upon those who do bad and good being visited upon those who do good. The problem with this is that karma is not a Christian concept, and should not be a Christian belief. We Christians hold to mercy and grace, not karma.

We hold to a God who forgives and forgets, not visits what has been done onto those who have done it. Jesus is quite clear when he teaches us to pray using these words 'forgive us our debts/sins/transgressions, as we forgive those who debt/sin/transgress against us.' We are forgiven because we forgive. Not we are forgiven when we wish harm to befall our enemies. Not we are forgiven when we hope people will get what's coming to them. We are forgiven because we forgive. Hence we are people of forgiveness, people of mercy, people of grace.

+ Have you wished ill on people, but now give forgiveness?

+ How does the grace and mercy you have been shown lead you to act?