I saw a five layer cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. I didn’t eat it! But it looked great! It only had two flavors, but was built up by alternating the two; white, brown (obviously some kind of chocolate), white, brown, and white. The center white layer was the thickest. As I looked at Psalm 25, I noticed that it had five layers. Verses 1-7 were prayer, Vss 8-10 were meditation, Vs 11 was another prayer, Vss 12-15 was another meditation, and verses 16-22 topped it off with another prayer. The middle layer of prayer, although consisting of only one verse was the most significant. It says, “For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.”
As I look over my life of 63 years, I too can say, “my guilt is great.” We all need forgiveness. I’m sure you’ve heard the story of the son who ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.
I feel sorry for atheists. First, they have no one to thank for all the wonderful things in life. Second, they have no one to ask for forgiveness for the rotten things they have done. I read that Not long before she died in 1988, in a moment of surprising candor in television, Marghanita Laski, one of the most famous atheists, said, “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”
I remember the old Dial Soap commercials. “Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everybody did? I say, “aren’t you glad you have Jesus to wash away your sin and guilt? Don’t you wish everybody did?”
Chuck
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.” (Psalm 19:1-2)