First moving violation. Speeding. Probably one that will never be forgotten. We all tend to remember those incidences. And then the question comes, “Will that go against my driving record?”.
There are so many kinds of “records”:
- an athlete can “break a record”
- in a courtroom a lawyer may want “to strike it from the record”
- on your insurance policy you may see “your driving record”
- we may state a fact “for the record”
- we may even want “to set the record straight”
Bottom line is that none of us wants a bad record. Of any sort.
We desire a perfect record.
King David, at his lowest point, cried out, “Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:9-10a, NLT) He desired a clean slate before God.
Paul tells us:
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14, NLT)
Paul makes the point that it was while we were still unbelieving, yet sinners, that God came and made us alive. We were totally undeserving yet He did it anyway. The long record of charges against us was canceled. In canceling them, it was as if we had never had a record in the first place. It is a clean slate, much like David desired. The New American Commentary explains “canceled”…..
The word used often signified the wiping (scraping) of the papyrus sheets so they could be used again. (page 264)
For the papyrus sheet to be used again, nothing would have been visible that was before written. And so it is the same with our lives. At that moment of salvation, we are given a new slate so that a brand new story can be written on the pages of each of our hearts.
Joining with these blogs today … Tell Me A Story and Unite and Soli Deo Gloria and Titus 2sdays and Teach Me Tues. and Women Helping Women and Titus 2 Tues. .
Hi Joanne 🙂
Thank you for your beautiful post.I am so thankful that my long list of charges have been cancelled.
And so am I!
Such an undeserved honor to say that my record is clean. Impossible to even believe if not for the trustworthiness of my Savior! Thanks for these lovely thoughts. Blessings, Shelly
Shelly – Beautifully put…..undeserved honor & solely due His trustworthiness. So glad that you shared!
Love your post with all the examples of Records. Then the verse to wash me clean and remove the previous records. Yes Amen to that. Thank you for sharing at “Tell Me a Story.”
wonderful image Joanne. Makes me think about the question: what legacy will you leave?
Jean – So very true. How we live will have an impact on our legacy. Something I think about often now that I have 2 granddaughters.
I praise God that my record has been nailed to the cross. Thanks for sharing how the papyrus (the record) was cleaned once and for all time. These two verses in Colossians are very special to me. Thanks again.
Blessings,
Mare