Buried, Gone, and Never Comin’ Back
Mercy sakes alive, friend, this here’s sho’-nuff’ somethin’ else! Hurry an’ pull your chair right on up here real close and sit yourself down with joy like a plump lil’ ol’ raccoon that just found the very last biscuit on the picnic table ‘cause we’re ‘bout to go strollin’ right on into a truth so doggone good it’ll be makin’ your heart holler real loud, “Thank You, Lord!” ‘a-fore your mind even begins to be catchin’ up. Colossians 2:13-14, where Scripture says, “God made us alive with Christ, forgave all our sins, and canceled every charge against us by nailing it to the cross.” That there just ain’t no kind o’ polite forgiveness. No, sir. That there ain’t tellin’ us that we should “try harder next time” kind o’ forgiveness. That there’s “buried deeper than one o’ them there big ol’ mole tunnels in the springtime” kinds o’ forgiveness.
Now, my stars, friend, have you ever wondered where your sin goes when you ask for forgiveness? I mean have you really wondered? ‘Cause sometimes we act like our sin is hidin’ behind some ol’ tree stump like a real guilty lil’ ol’ possum just waitin’ to jump back out and ruin our day with some kind o’ lil’ ol’ mess he’s wantin’ to be gittin’ into. But the moment Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me” in Matthew 27:46, somethin’ real holy and thunderous happened. He took on your sin and mine. Every doggone bit of it. Them real loud sins, them real quiet sins, the ones you remember, and the ones you’re hopin’ nobody ever finds out ‘bout. All of it, every single bit of is, was nailed to that there cross with Jesus Himself.
And when God nails somethin’, friend, it stays plumb nailed. He’s not up there to be pullin’ out spiritual thumbtacks like a confused lil’ ol’ woodpecker rearrangin’ his collection o’ seeds and nuts. Your sin ain’t never gonna’ be comin’ back down. God ain’t gonna’ be handin’ it back to you like a borrowed casserole dish. Psalm 103:12 says, “He removed our sins as far as the east is from the west.” That there’s farther than a lil’ ol’ hungry squirrel can git to runnin’ when he all o’ the sudden realizes that the sleepin’ ol’ coon hound dog woke up.
So, why do we keep on tryin’ to drag our old sins back out an’ be handlin’ ‘em? Why do we start rehearsin’ our failures over an’ over like a lil’ ol’ Banty rooster practicin’ his crowin’ skills? Why do we think we need to be carryin’ the guilt that Jesus already hauled off like yesterday’s ol’ dirty trash? Stop digging up what God has already buried. Stop carryin’ what God has removed. Stop dwelling on what God has already forgotten.
It’s done been plumb nailed down. It’s gonna ‘ be staying plumb nailed down. We can walk away plumb free an’ clear ‘cause the price has already been paid an’ the sin is thrown away!
Father, thank You for nailin’ my sin to the cross and leavin’ it there. Help me stop pickin’ up what You have already taken away. Teach me to be walkin’ in the freedom You done purchased for me. Let my heart rest in Your mercy and rejoice in Your grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Now, if this here don’t beat a possum in a pear tree, friend, as you git to steppin’ off this here porch and git yourself right back into your day, remember that your sin ain’t hanging ‘round like a nosy lil’ ol’ goat peekin’ through the fence wires. It’s all real gone. It’s all real finished. It’s all real settled. You gotta’ be walkin’ like somebody whose chains have fallen right off and done rolled down the hill like a wagon wheel that fell off an’ got loose. You gotta’ be liftin’ your head real high, breathin’ real deep, and livin’ mighty free ‘cause what Jesus nailed down and forgot is gonna be stayin’ nailed down an’ forgot.
With joy,
Gwen
